Tuesday, August 21, 2012

‘Time and Space’ oil paintings and watercolours by Cliona Fox and Philip Brennan

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 County Clare comes a wide variety of interpretation of themes as diverse as singing, storms, history, geology, seasonality and wildlife in watercolour, ink and acrylic. His background as a naturalist is obvious in this exhibition as all the work come from constant observation of his surroundings. Brennan’s paintings show a plethora of ideas and themes, shape and colour.







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’.

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.

‘Diary of a camping holiday’ a mixed media exhibition by Ann Vaughan





August 24 – September 20









‘Diary of a camping holiday’ is a body of work inspired by a recent camping holiday, by the artist, in a region of mountains and lakes. The work reads like pages from a personal journal, with everyday highs and lows and real happenings. “Events take on a new life as they inspire my thoughts and a new fantasy world emerges. John Lennon once said ‘reality leaves a lot to the imagination’, I take a sketch or snapshot and build a picture around it. My art is a slice of everyday life and the materials I use are an interminable list of everything”.  Mainly she focuses on the human experience, the non-events of life, stolen moments that somehow can become captured treasures.








Ann Vaughan is a native of Liscannor in Co Clare, and she is a graduate of Galway College of Art. Currently she is a studio artist in The Courthouse Gallery.

Saturday, August 4, 2012

http://www.heritageweek.ie/



HERITAGE WEEK
IN THE COURTHOUSE GALLERY





Saturday 18th at 7pm
Ennistymon: What’s it to you?
Photographs of the town of Ennistymon taken by local people using disposable cameras, projected onto outside wall adjacent to the Courthouse Gallery.
Edel Barry in conjunction with Built Heritage Collective (Ireland).  No charge.
Weather permitting, otherwise in the Gallery. 


Thursday 23 Aug at 8 pm
A history of North Clare in 100 objects. 
A talk that explores the rich history of North Clare.
History is lying and dying all around us "if only the walls could speak"
All welcome. Free admission.

Friday 24 Aug 
at 12 noon Town Walk with Frances Madigan and John O’Loughlin Starting at the Gallery
A stroll through the streets of Ennistymon to discover the history of this Old Market Town. Free admission

at 4 pm Meet the artists at the Courthouse Gallery
Philip Brennan and Cliona Fox will talk about the inspiration for their current work. Philip is a landscape artist and has published two books on the wildlife of Co Clare. Cliona's work is inspired by the current state of the Irish Fishing Industry. Free admission.

at 5pm Exhibition Launch 

at 5pm Exhibition Launch
‘Time and Space’  watercolours and oil paintings
by Philip Brennan and Cliona Fox. Main Gallery
in conjunction with
‘Diary of a Camping Holiday’ mixed media
by Ann Vaughan in the Red Couch Space
Light refreshments served. All are welcome.