August
24 – September 20
Meet
the artists on Friday 24 August at 4 pm :
Cliona
and Philip talk about the inspiration for their current work.
All
are welcome
Official
opening of the exhibition is at 5 pm
Philip Brennan is a landscape artist and has published two
books on the wildlife of Co Clare. Cliona Fox’s work is inspired by the current
state of the Irish Fishing Industry.
Within the world of Philip
Brennan’s obsession with his native 
Cliona Fox’s images in the exhibition at the Courthouse Gallery have a definite maritime correlation and on first glance would seem to deal solely with the narrative of a fishing industry. An alternative analysis however demands a wider reading when it consigns an interpretation to the demise of the ‘Celtic Tiger economy’.
.jpg)
By illustrating
them Cliona is endeavouring to understand better our coastline communities and
the ensuing fishing industry along with its challenges to sustain and
adapt. And in doing so she is
attempting to enhance their profile while encouraging a closer scrutiny of the
impact global forces have on us all. 
Cliona doesn’t
focus on idealising the scenes and as such the images often include degrees of
decay and abandonment. Much attention is paid to surface quality and texture
where she creates canvases of relief and ambiguity. Some wonderful passages of
loose brushwork and expressive mark-making combined with a varied palette and
elements of carefully constructed details make these works worth serious
contemplation.
Cliona Fox is primarily a painter and although working and living
in Dublin she
regularly undertakes residencies in various parts of the Country in order to
seek inspiration. Among them has been the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at
Annaghmakerrig, The Custom House Studios, Mayo and The Cill Rialaig Retreat,
Co. Kerry. Since leaving college (NCAD)
she has had many solo and group exhibitions.
