Girls girls girls, Lismore Castle Arts, Co Waterford

“I wanted to invite a group of?artists?who inspire, challenge and engage with femininity and its subversive characteristics, reflecting a female viewpoint today,” says designer Simone Rocha who curates a group exhibition called “girls girls girls” at Lismore Castle. Participating artists include Louise Bourgeois, Genevieve Figgis, Cindy Sherman (pictured), Dorothy Cross, Domino Whisker, Eimear Lynch and Luo Yang. Contrasting forms and media -?art, sculpture and photography including self-portraiture – reveal a thread of the natural?world as well as, as Rocha describes, “the sense of a haunting reality lingering just below?the surface”. The exhibition runs until October 30; www.lismorecastlearts.ie. 

Ellie Dunne, Solo Exhibition, Dower House Gallery, Co Laois

Dublin-born Ellie Dunne is currently a student on the Art Portfolio course at Stillorgan College and she hopes to progress to art college in the future. This exhibition of abstracts works, her first solo exhibition, was created during lockdown when she experimented with new paints and materials. Striking and graphic, with a strong sense of colour and of pattern, Dunne has said that the artists who inspire her are Anni Albers, William Crozier, Richard Gorman, Keith Haring, Mainie Jellett, Agnes Martin, Bridget Riley, and Sean Scully. Last year Dunne collaborated with Miriam Cushen, a sixth-generation weaver from the family-owned Cushendale Woollen Mills, Co Kilkenny, to produce a limited edition of blankets using wool from the fleece of the protected Galway sheep. She is currently working on designs for more blankets to be released later this year. The exhibition at the Dower House Gallery at the CaToCa Café at Emo Court, Co Laois is on until May 29. Admission is free and the Gallery is open during the Café’s opening hours; www.gove.ie. 

Giacometti: From Life, The National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

This new exhibition offers visitors a rare opportunity to see more than 50 works by the renowned Swiss-born artist Alberto Giacometti, including sculptures, paintings, and drawings. This is the first exhibition of Giacometti’s work to be held at the National Gallery of Ireland and is co-organised by the Fondation Giacometti. The human figure was a source of endless fascination to Giacometti and “Giacometti: From Life” highlights his close relationships with the friends and family members who modelled for him. Tickets can be purchased online, starting from €5. The exhibition runs until September 4; www.nationalgallery.ie. 

Roseanne Lynch, Semblance, Lavit Gallery, Cork

“Semblance” was inspired by a dialogue between Lynch and artist/educator Pádraig Spillane, and explores Lynch’s photographic attitude and the relationship between the documentary and non-representational elements of her work. This exhibition at Lavit Gallery, Wandesford Quay, Cork presents images of experimental modernist architectural space made at the Bauhaus Foundation in Dessau, Germany, Eileen Gray’s E 1027, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France, and Charlotte Perriand’s kitchen for Unité d’Habitation amongst others. The exhibition also includes Lynch’s photo abstractions which are plays with light, materials and analogue photographic processes. The exhibition continues until April 30; www.lavitgallery.com. 

Slow Time with a Butterfly, King House, Co Roscommon

Contemporary Tapestry Artists Ireland is a group of professional tapestry weavers working in studios all over the country who come together to collaborate and exhibit their work to raise the profile of this textile medium. Without a long tradition of tapestry weaving in Ireland, CTA works at every opportunity to show the diversity of work that is possible. In this exhibition, which opens on April 28 each member is showcasing the development of their work in recent years.

“Slow Time with a Butterfly” refers to the slow, detailed practice of tapestry weaving. The technique uses “butterflies” or bobbins of coloured yarns woven through a cotton or linen warp to create the image of the artist’s design. The word “tapestry” for most people is synonymous with wool embroidery or needlepoint. Work by CTA members Muriel Beckett, Frances Crowe (pictured), Mary Cuthbert, Lorna Donlon, Terry Dunne, Angela Forte, Anne Harte, Theresa McKenna and Lisbeth Mulcahy, all established artists in their own right, will be on display; www.dcci.ie. 

Stephen Lawlor, In a Liminal Space, So Fine Art Editions, Dublin

Opening on Saturday, April 16 for one week only, this is a chance to acquire a beautiful monograph Profile #29 – Stephen Lawlor, published by Gandon Editions alongside an exhibition of the artist’s work entitled “In a Liminal Space”. The book contains Lawlor’s work from over four decades, including 130 colour illustrations. An introduction by John Banville, an essay by John O’Sullivan, a Q&A with Oliver Sears and an afterword from Theo Dorgan provide insight and background on the works. The corresponding exhibition, showcases his figurative images, which border on abstraction and highlight the strong connection with the history of European painting. His use of light and his focus on the past makes his work instantly recognisable. His recent paintings have been likened to a “Dutch Master on acid”. www.sofinearteditions.com 

Bennie Reilly, The Louvre of the Pebble, The Dock Arts Centre, Co Leitrim

Bennie Reilly’s new exhibition of painting and mixed media sculpture at The Dock Arts Centre, Carrick-on-Shannon is informed by an interest in museology, nature and history. The works in “The Louvre of the Pebble” are based on her photographic research from museums around the world and also pebbles, precious stones, objects and artefacts she has collected. These are presented as painted still life and assembled into three-dimensional “trophies” and decorative arrangements. The title of the exhibition takes its name from the home of Jim Ede – a collector and former curator of the Tate Britain. His former home, Kettles Yard in Cambridge, now a museum, was affectionately named “The Louvre of the Pebble” by his friends. It’s a tranquil place where natural curios sit side by side with modern art and where as much consideration was given to the placing of a pebble as that of a Henry Moore. Reilly’s exhibition opens on April 16 – June 18; www.thedock.ie. 

The Project Twins: bláth, bláth, bláth, Hen’s Teeth’s Gallery, Dublin 8

Opening on Thursday, April 14, “Bláth, Bláth, Bláth” features a series of woodcut prints, metal sculptural pieces and a throw blanket, all centred around flowers, a symbol in The Project Twins work. “During lockdown, awkward and wonky flowers became a recurring symbol in our work. Flowers can seen as a universal symbol of beauty and nature, but depending on their context can also represent, reproduction or decay, and through this exhibition we wanted to explore their iconography through a combination of digital and traditional techniques.” Themes of nature and the internet come together in the work. The series of prints are made using separate laser cut wood pieces which are inked and put back together, almost like a jigsaw, before printing. All screen prints and sculptural pieces are available at www.hensteethstore.com. 

Collage: A Political Act, Ulster Museum, Belfast

With artworks spanning 100 years, this exhibition plays with the idea that collage encourages us to look at images from a new perspective by deconstructing them. Viewers are challenged to view the collages differently and reconsider how they view the world around them. The exhibition also features recent acquisitions by international artists such as Troy Michie, along with works by local artists such as Belfast-based Joy Gerrard, known for her work that interrogates relationships between crowds, architecture and urban landscapes and 2021 Turner prize winners Array Collective. The exhibition runs until May 29, pictured is Anna Liesching, curator at Ulster Museum; www.nmni.com. 

Mirza Cizmic, Silence, Hang Touch Contemporary, Dublin 2

Launching on Thursday April 14, “Memories of the loud silence” is a collection of new oil paintings from Hang Tough’s Open Call 2021 winner Mirza Cizmic. The Bosnian-born artist is currently based in Helsinki. The way he paints is a way of interpreting the world, not through the eyes of a painter, but through his personal experiences. Cizmic predominantly uses oil paint on primed paper. The surface of primed paper is very smooth offering more control over his brush strokes. “Memories of the loud silence” will feature a collection of 20 new paintings on paper presented framed for exhibition; www.hangtough.ie. 

Spring Group Exhibition, Solomon Fine Art, Dublin 2

Solomon Fine Art’s annual Spring Group exhibition showcases new work by gallery and invited artists. This vibrant mix of paintings, sculpture and print will include work by some of Ireland’s leading artists including Margo Banks, Jean Bardon, John Behan, Leah Beggs, Tom Climent, Eamon Colman, Julie Cusack, Orla de Brí, Ana Duncan, Margaret Egan, Bridget Flinn, Stephanie Hess, Carol Hodder, Eilis O’Connell, Vivienne Roche, John Short and Cléa van der Grijn. This year the gallery is also featuring works by artists Melissa O’Faherty and Michael Wann, new members of the impressive Solomon stable. The exhibition runs until April 30; www.solomonfineart.ie. 

Fierce Nice, Galway

Art startup Fierce Nice, founded by Ryan Shiels, is an online gallery which has just announced a slew of new artist partnerships and released its biggest ever range of fine art print editions. Fresh arrivals to the Fierce Nice gallery’s fine art print collection include exclusive works by leading Irish contemporary artists Jonathan Dickson, Julianne Guinee, Dee Walsh, Cormac O’Leary, Ann Marie Webb, Gerry Davis and Derval Freeman. Spanning a wide range of styles and subject matters, these new works showcase the richness, diversity and vitality of the Irish art scene. Fierce Nice is currently offering free international shipping on all orders of €150 or more. This offer will run until April 30; www.fiercenice.com. 

Photo Album of the Irish: Canada, EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum in Dublin

Opening on Friday, April 15 by the Ambassador of Ireland to Canada Dr Eamonn McKee, The Photo Album of the Irish is an ongoing digital archive project exploring the histories of the Irish as reflected in their family photographs. The Canada edition reflects the deep, enduring connections between Ireland and Canada. This exhibition includes images from the 1860s to the present day, giving an authentic view of diverse Irish emigrant experiences across Canada. The evolving archive is available to view at www.photoalbumoftheirish.com.

Eilis O’Connell: Breadth Becomes Air, Pangolin, London

“I think of air as a material to work with and that is a huge challenge when working in stone,” says contemporary Irish sculptor Eilis O’Connell, who has opened a new exhibition at Pangolin London. “Breadth becomes Air” is a collection of tactile sculptures shaped by folds, curves, and edges, inspired by archaeology, the body, architecture and found objects. The rural environment she works in, on a hillside near Cork City, seeps into her practice, and the landscape, local geology, hills and mountains are always present in her work. Her work simultaneously embodies the a feeling of antiquity and modernity. “Breath become Air” continues at Pangolin London until May 21; www.pangolinlondon.com.