From auctions to installations and photography to paintings, these galleries are brimming with visual inspiration
Main Image; Art and Soul, Culloden Estate & Spa, Co Antrim
The Ulster Bank Collection, Morgan O’Driscoll Fine Art Auctioneers
This special collection donated by Ulster Bank includes 250 Irish paintings and sculptures includes works by leading Irish artists including Elizabeth Cope, (pictured) Donald Teskey, Peter Curling, John B Vallely, William Crozier, and Arthur Maderson as well as sculptures by Laurent Mellet and Sandra Bell among others. Funds raised though this art auction will be donated to the philanthropic hub Community Foundation Ireland. Since 2000, the Foundation has provided over €120m in grant supports to communities. To view this auction on August 28, visit; www.morganodriscoll.com
Art and Soul, Culloden Estate & Spa, Co Antrim
Curated by Gormleys, this is Ireland’s largest sculpture exhibition and runs until September 10 at Culloden Estate and Spa, Co Antrim. The free event features 80 large sculptures and installations set throughout the twelve acres of landscaped grounds. Inside the hotel, visitors can see exhibitions by renowned Irish artists Martin Mooney, Maser, Peter Monaghan, Gordon Harris and Stephen Forbes. It’s well worth a visit and is an excellent introduction to contemporary art and sculpture in a serene setting. The Gormley team are on hand to provide free tours of the exhibits, while there are various art-themed afternoon teas and tasting menus. To celebrate, there is also a special Sip and See package including accommodation, breakfast, champagne and canapés in the Bollinger champagne garden. From €421 for two; www.cullodenestateandspa.com
Hyper Natural, Simone Mudde, Lismore Castle Arts, Co Cork
In Simone Mudde’s solo exhibition Hyper Natural, curated by Séamus McCormack she experiments with colour separation photography, a process where monochrome images are exposed using coloured filters and subsequently layered in the darkroom, and through digital manipulation, to create new compositions.
The original technique, developed in the early 20th century, requires perfect composition and accurate exposure. However, ‘failures’ including alignment issues or glitches of colour form narratives for Mudde. The images in the exhibition are e from the natural surroundings of Lismore and the architecture of St Carthage Hall. This exhibition is in Lismore Castle’s Stable Yard until September 3. Another must-see is an installation of work by Niamh O’Malley in the Stable Yard at Lismore Castle; www.lismorecastlearts.ie @simonemudde
Jo-Anne Yelen Exhibition, The Montenotte, Co Cork
Originally from a remote village in South Africa, Yelen and her family moved to Ireland in the late 1970s and settled on the Ring of Kerry. She explains: “My purpose as an artist is to uplift the viewer and evoke a positive response from their psyche.” She has nicknamed her naïve style with a colourful twist as “Thru-ism” due to the fact that viewers can see both the outside of the scene, and through to the inside. She depicts local scenes and villages in vibrant colours and is the latest painter to take up residency in The Montenotte which has an ongoing artist in residence programme with The Gallery Kinsale. Jo-Anne’s work will be in the hotel lobby for six months. Do pop in and have a look while visiting the Victorian gardens or having lunch on its gorgeous panoramic terrace; www.themontenottehotel.com
The Theft of Time, John Fitzsimons, So Fine Art Editions, Powercourt Townhouse Centre, Dublin 2
John Fitzsimons is a Dublin-based painter and printmaker whose work “seeks to evoke balance and harmony in society, while also highlighting our damaging relationship with the environment.” He juxtaposes curvilinear and linear shapes and his colour palette ranges from muted blues and greys to pinks and crisp lemons. The exhibition opens on Saturday, August 26 until September 23; www.sofinearteditions.com
More exhibitions to note…
Cork Craft Month, Cork Celebrating local artists, crafters and makers, Cork Craft Month is well underway with a diverse line-up of over 79 workshops and exhibitions. Events are held across three main locations: Benchspace studio in Cork City, Kilcoe Studio in Ballydehob, and Greywood Arts in Killeagh. One exhibition to note is at The Gallery @ No.46 on Grand Parade, which is hosting an exhibit called Emerge, centred around up-and-coming Cork crafters. This exhibition includes graduating students from MTU Crawford College of Art and Design, Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa, St John’s Central College, Kinsale College and Skibbereen College of Commerce; www.corkcraftanddesign.com
MADE in Kilkenny/Made Local, at DCCI National Design & Craft Gallery, Co Kilkenny. Curated by Mary Gallagher, the exhibition features work of 28 makers in clay, wood, metal, willow, textiles, glass, wax, and leather; www.dcci.ie
Gerard Byrne, The Corner Note Café, Dalkey In Dalkey, modern Impressionist artist, Gerard Byrne is having a special three-day exhibition from August 25-27 in The Corner Note Café, Dalkey to coincide with the town’s popular Lobster Festival. Gerard’s exhibition will be of figurative paintings and local landscapes, and there will be a chance to buy his new coffee table book, Turning Corners, too; www.gerardbyrneartist.com
Irish landscape artist David Coyne has a new collection of work at The Oriel Gallery, Dublin 2; www.theoriel.com
Erris Retrospective, Hughie O’Donoghue, is an exhibition of paintings inspired by the landscape around Erris, currently on at Áras Inis Gluaire, Belmullet, Co Mayo until the end of August. O’Donoghue says of his work, “My paintings are never ‘views’ picturesque or otherwise and instead are intended to evoke a real connection to place and consequently memory and therefore identity.” www.arasinisgluaire.ie
