NEW WEBSITE

We are delighted to announce the launch of our 
exciting new website - check it out at:

http://thecourthousegallery.com


Our new email address is info@thecourthousegallery.com


You can use the old email address as well.
The old blogs are bedded in the new website.

“Seeing the Burren”, an exhibition of new work by David Skinner.

From FEB 16 – MARCH 7, 2013 

Official opening Saturday, February 16, at 4 pm

Everybody welcome and  meet the artist.

In the exhibition, David Skinner presents a series of landscape paintings that focuses on the Burren area of County Clare. Originally based in California, the artist is known for employing a bright palette and expressive brushwork in paintings that strike a balance between abstract and representational art. In this new body of work, Skinner draws inspiration from the unique light of the Irish winter, depicting the long shadows and vibrant colours that announce themselves once the sun has broken through the clouds. Since moving to Ireland last fall, he has been busy exploring the back roads of the Burren, taking photographs to use as source material back in the studio. The traditional cottages that appear in some of the works are referenced less as lodgings and more as shapes that the land accommodates. For this show, the paintings are primarily small works (25 x 25 cm), done with acrylic paints on watercolour paper. Seen together, these small paintings provide an evocative view of an intriguing and ancient region of Ireland.

David Skinner is a Los Angeles-based artist who has exhibited extensively in the United States over the past twenty-five years in galleries and international art fairs. He is currently on a six-month art residency at the Burren College of Art and will exhibit his new paintings of Ireland in a solo show at the Elder Art Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the fall.

New Paintings and Drawings in the Courthouse Gallery by John Cullen 'Looking at the Stars' and Leonard Graham 'Dystopia'

From FEB 16 – MARCH 7, 2013
Official opening Saturday 16th February at 4 pm
Everybody welcome and meet the artists.

The upcoming exhibition at the Courthouse Gallery, Ennistymon will show new paintings and drawings by Leonard Graham and John Cullen. Both artists work in an expressive way.

Leonard's works are very spontaneous and almost primitive in their application. He wants to simplify drawing right down to its base form. “I clear my head of any preconceived notions and let the stream of conscience flow”, he says. “What is left is a deeply buried background noise manifest onto paper.” 

Leonard Graham was born in Limerick and raised in Co. Clare. He graduated from Limerick School of Art in 2000 with a degree in fine art printmaking and a higher diploma in art teaching. He has had a variety of solo and group exhibitions in Ireland, England and on-line. He also teaches art and design in Cork and is currently working on a graphic novel due in 2014.






John Cullen's paintings are inspired by the distressed images of boxers’ faces.  
Through use of colour, composition and surface he tries to convey emotional states – courage, fear, anger, uncertainty, humiliation etc. “As such the paintings are metaphors for the state of humanity within the context of the current economic downturn”, he says. 
“They are also very much about paint, and my attempts to apply and manipulate it until the painting  takes on a life of its own, or becomes something independent.  To this end layering and the use of impasto are vital to the process.  I prefer to work on one painting at a time, giving it everything I can until it is resolved or destroyed.  It is this tightrope between resolution and destruction that is the challenge for me as an artist.”  

John Cullen was born in London and is resident in Ireland since 1995.  He lives and works in Sligo. He graduated from Sligo I.T in 2009 with a degree in Fine Art. Since then he had various solo and group exhibitions in Ireland.

'Questioning Europe’s Future' 1st February at 7pm in the gallery

Seeing comes before words’. John Berger

Dear artists and art lovers,

I like to invite you to take part in a discussion organised during the closing reception of the exhibition CIRCUS EUROPE: an international collaboration of poetry & images, in the Courthouse Gallery, Ennistymon on 1^st February at 7 pm.

Artist Machteld van Buren from the Netherlands created the series of works titled ‘Circus Europe’ in 2012. 

The eight large collages illustrate how the struggle for survival is being waged various European countries.

On the evening Machteld van Buren will start with a short talk about her work and will invite you afterwards to take part in a walk around the exhibition and to discuss the various works with invited politicians and the public.

The theme of the discussion will be: 'Questioning Europe’s Future'

Invitees for this evening are: Michael McNamara, Timmy Dooley, Pat Breen, Johnny Flynn, Tony Mulcahy and  Martin Conway.

The idea behind Circus Europe is to strike a different note in the political debate through art and to give an alternative with a playful and visionary element, which might be actually quite useful. Rather than leaving it to politicians to define the Europe of today and tomorrow, it would be good to have artists depict it as well.

ALL WELCOME

Trudi van der Elsen
Curator/Co-ordinator Courthouse Gallery
‘Art is not searching for solutions, but likes to bring about a stimulating field for new and open ideas’

STUDIO FOR RENT

Studio for rent at the Courthouse Studios and Gallery

Parliament Street, Ennistymon, Co. Clare.

North facing skylights, architect designed lighting system, broadband and adjustable heating system, 24 hour access to building. Beautiful communal space shared with 4 other artists in the building. Rent includes electricity and heating.

There is also a shared studio available to rent.

Please contact the gallery  (065) 7071630

or email - ennistymoncourthousegallery@gmail.com

THE HISTORY OF NORTH CLARE IN 100 OBJECTS.

The very popular and successful series will recommence at the Ennistymon Courthouse on Wednesday 23^rd of January at 8.00 P.M.. The series is not run in a strictly chronological order so there are always surprises at each session. Formal history in the traditional style very often overlooked the social and cultural life of a people. In this series there is a decided emphasis on the life and lifestyle of the people of North Clare.

It is said every picture tells a story. We believe that every object has its own story,connections and associations. History lies all around us and we need to read it, not just in history books , but in our environment , folklore , ballads, family records and heirlooms.

History is a shared story and The History of North Clare in 100 Objects is a great opportunity to share our story and heritage

Call for Submissions

The Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon, Co. Clare is seeking submissions for the new exhibition programme starting in October 2013 

Deadline: 5pm, Wednesday 27 February 2013

The Courthouse Gallery features a main art gallery and a smaller Red Couch Space.

We are interested in exhibiting a wide range of visual art, including collaborations and multi-media projects for exhibition in both our gallery spaces. We also welcome proposals that are participatory led or involve some engagement with the community.

We wish to focus on exhibiting emerging artists based locally and nationwide.

If you are interested in applying, please send your submission, including:

1. Artist’s CV
2. Brief artist’s statement,
3. Description of proposed show,
4. 6-8 jpeg images and/or mpg file on CD

Please send submissions to:
Trudi van der Elsen - Curator,
Ennistymon Courthouse Gallery,
Parliament Street,
Ennistymon,
Co. Clare.

Selection will be made in March and all artists will be contacted after that.

For more information and/or a floor plan please contact:
E: ennistymoncourthousegallery@gmail.com

T: 065-7071630

W: http://ennistymoncourthousegallery.blogspot.ie/

Deadline for submissions: 5pm, Wednesday 27 February 2013

CIRCUS EUROPE book

The Courthouse Gallery is delighted to announce the publication of CIRCUS EUROPE published by Salmon Poetry, a book of art & poetry to coincide with the exhibition at the Courthouse Gallery from Saturday 12th January - 1st February
Official opening and book launch with poetry reading at 4 pm in the Courthouse Gallery

Please check : 
http://www.salmonpoetry.com/details.php?ID=276&a=88

CIRCUS EUROPE: an international collaboration featuring Poetry & Images

Collages by Machteld van Buren (The Netherlands).

From Saturday 12 January – 1 February 2013

Official opening 12th January

4 pm - Reading and book launch

5 pm - Launch of the exhibition

Closing reception with artist talk and panel discussion: 1 February at 7pm

The theme of the panel discussion is: Questioning Europe’s Future

The series of works titled ‘Circus Europe’ are created by Machteld van Buren in 2012. The eight large collages illustrate how the struggle for survival is being waged in various European countries. 

Eight poets were invited to offer their interpretation of these images. The Irish poets taking part in this project are Jo Slade, Frank Golden, Jessie Lendennie and Patrick Chapman. 
The Dutch poets are Arnoud van Adrichem, Martin Reints, Lieke Marsman and Peter van Lier.

Publisher Salmon Poetry, based in Co Clare, will publish a booklet of this project in an English edition. The collages are to be exhibited in both Ireland and the Netherlands.

Machteld van Buren is an established artist and her work is in the collections of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, the Centraal Museum in Utrecht and the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden. (http://www.machteldvanburen.nl/)

In this project she reflects on the tensions and uncertainties that exist in the present-day European Union which, although it is presented under the banner of a common flag, has always been a patchwork of independent nations. The current crisis has made it clear that a ‘United States of Europe’ is still a long way off. In the future, further disintegration is perhaps a more likely prospect than political union.

The collages explore how the struggle for survival is being waged in various European countries. Most of the countries are depicted as an animal: the body consists of a map onto which the realistic head of an animal has been superimposed. Great Britain is portrayed with a number of horses’ heads, which form part of the landscape. The awkward juxtaposition of these figures suggests that the UK is not only struggling with its position within the EU, but is also divided by internal strife. Germany appears to be a bird of prey – not the traditional eagle, but a vulture. The juggling acts which these circus animals have to perform to keep themselves going are indicative of how each nation functions. But just how the stunts work is not entirely clear.

Rather than leaving it to politicians to define the Europe of today and tomorrow, it would be good to have artists depict it as well. Given the tone of the debate, alternatives with a playful or visionary element might actually be quite useful.

So let the fun begin: ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Circus Europe!’

=± EQUATION ±= an exhibition by Sarah Lundy

In the Red Couch Space

=± EQUATION ±=

=± EQUATION ±= features an edited body of recent work by Clare based multimedia artist Sarah Lundy to be shown in the Red Couch space, Ennistymon Courthouse Gallery, opening 12th January 2013 at 4pm.

Lundys work mediates purely formalist concerns and contemporary conceptualism. Through the use of moving image, assemblage of quotidian objects and ephemeral performance materials, the works endeavour to negotiate provocative arrangement and questions autonomy in the face of homogenization. Her practice involves the production of stoic visual accounts of the experience of the individual through consideration of the inevitable synthetic systemization of language, labour and behaviour. The aesthetic is post-minimalist with a focus on eloquent paradoxes of form and function, and their relationship to the notion of identity.

Artist Biog:

Lundy is a visual artist and curator based in county Clare. She holds a BA hons in Arts, English & Philosophy & MA 1^st Hons in Arts Policy & Practice from NUI Galway, plus a distinction certificate in Professional Art Practice from GTI. Currently she is studying part-time for her MFA with the OCA & is Front of House Manager at Glor Arts Centre, Ennis, Clare and holds a voluntary position of administrator with GUAC. She has exhibited in selected group exhibitions in 126 Gallery, Galway, Catalyst Arts Belfast, Mad Art Gallery, Dublin, Carnegie Arts Centre, Kerry, Galway Arts Centre and Tactic Cork amongst others. Having completed a curatorial internship at The Model, Sligo recent curatorial projects include Void:Volume international group exhibition at Galway Arts Centre, November 2011 & Television group exhibition, Tactic, Cork in association with MART, September 2012.She was recently selected for a group screening at Riverbank Arts Centre, London at the Irish Film Festival, London, November 2012. Further video work can be seen at www.mart.ie.

(http://www.sarahellenlundy.com)

Christmas Greetings

Kathryn, Dara, Crissie, and Trudi wish you all a  Happy and Peaceful Christmas,

& a Creative New Year!

Thank you to everybody especially our volunteer helpers and friends who supported the Gallery throughout the past year.

TRASNA III  will run until 3^rd January

The gallery opening times for the holiday season are as follows:

Friday 21^st and Saturday 22^nd December……….. open 12 – 4pm

Thursday 27^th, Friday 28^th and Saturday 29^th  December  ^………… open 12 – 4pm

Monday 31^st   December  ………open 12 – 4pm

Tuesday 1^st January 2013 Closed

Wednesday 2^nd and Thursday 3^rd January …….open 12 – 4pm

Friday 4^th January the gallery will be closed 

The Courthouse Gallery like to thank all artists who submitted work to the Trasna III exhibition and made it a great success!

The Courthouse Gallery invites you to

Trasna III

Opening Reception
 & Christmas Party

With Silent Auction

December Fri 7^nd at  8pm

Trasna III 
an exhibition of postcard-sized works by national and international artists continues until January 4^th 2013

Following the overwhelming success of Trasna I and Trasna II, the Courthouse Gallery are delighted to be bringing to your attention Trasna III small artworks, exhibition, which promises to be the best yet!

With more than 400 original small artworks, from your favourite local, national and the occasional international artist, this is a wonderful opportunity to purchase artworks for loved ones in the upcoming festive season.

Drawing, painting, sculpture, and mixed media artworks, from country sketches to contemporary photoworks, there is something for everyone.

To encourage you to share in this event there will be a wine reception and a humorous auction on the opening night Friday 7th at 8pm. Members of the public are invited to come early and place an opening bid on their favourite pieces before the auction, the gallery will be open from 7pm.

The pieces will be auctioned by Chris Wallis and Sarah Fuller

There is a reserve price of €40 on each work, giving people the chance to have something truly original on their walls at this accessible price. This is a silent auction, meaning artists are anonymous until after works are purchased.

The exhibition will run on until January 4^th, giving the public a chance another chance to view this wonder captivating exhibition and chose the perfect gift for someone they love, including themselves!

In keeping with the community spirit, upstairs, in the Red Couch Exhibition Space there will on display a patchwork quilt made by the Irish Aid Development Sewing Class.

 

In this work the participants reflect on the importance of water in the lives of the people of Pemba Island, Tanzania and Ennistymon, Co.Clare. At the heart of the project was a focus on ethical choices that make the world a fairer place to live. This patchwork quilt made by a voluntary group of women in Ennistymon is called ‘Uisce’ and illustrates scenes from both communities.

Noland Folk and Twin Headed Wolf

The Gallery

presents and invites you to

Noland Folk 

and 

Twin Headed Wolf

Friday, November 23^rd at 8 pm

Having parted ways due to extreme musical similarities, NoLand Folk members, past and present, are now re-united to form the definitive folk supergroup. For one night only, they will join forces with the ethereal Twin Headed Wolf, whose transcendent harmonies belie their sinister themes and raw sound.

€5 at the door.

All proceeds go to the Lahinch town twinning association.

Something of the Night

Something of the Night paintings and a sculptural installation by

Mary Noonan and Peter Burns

From 2 November – 29 November 2012

Official opening 2 November at 8 pm

Peter Burns makes paintings and objects in a variety of materials. The paintings have sculptural elements and the objects are strongly linked to the practice of painting.

Peter says about his work: ‘I have a very tactile and experimental approach to my work. In the paintings chunks of old dried oil paint are often attached to the canvas while in other areas paint is scraped off to reveal underlying layers. The objects are made using ephemeral materials such as wax combined with found objects. They are painted, small in scale and often fragile. In the paintings people are shown in relation to nature and the universe. Small figures and animals exist and roam in painted worlds. I make sculptures of heads defined by their individual personalities. Other objects play with scale and have elements of landscape. The inspiration for these works originates in my interest in literature, art history, myth and allegory amongst other things’.

His work has been described as rhizomatic, suggesting an organic practice, growing through a gradual accumulation of marks and taking myriad forms, producing works without a definite beginning or end.

Mary Noonan employs a variety of working methods, though most of her work is drawing based. The body of work she shows in the Courthouse Gallery comes from research into Irish folklore and superstition relating to “fairy-faith”, particularly from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The materials and processes she uses such as tearing and cutting the paper become a metaphor for psychological aspects of uncovered narrative. The work is informed by the uncanny and, explores varied themes including myth, allegory and storytelling.  It forms a continuous dialogue referencing not only past work but also memory, place and mortality. November traditionally seen as the month of the dead provides the backdrop for the work shown in this exhibition.

                      

Hunger / Lullaby / Melancholia

Official opening : Friday 2 November at 8 pm

Carles Casasín  -  Animations

Hunger / Lullaby / Melancholia

 Nov 2 – Nov 29,  2012

About the Animations:

“My animations are allegories set in an imaginary world where fantasy and reality merge like in dreams. The atmosphere is charged with psychological undertones. The recurring goat man represents the animal side of human nature, our primary instincts gradually fading from our genetic make up.

To create my images I work with oil paintings, watercolours, ink, charcoal and pencil drawings, oil pastels, crayons, digital drawing, photography and Photoshop.” Carles Casasín.  Carles is living in Ballyvaughan, Co Clare.

Entropical

Entropical an exhibition of paintings by Rupert Bagwell

In the Red Couch Space

From 2 November – 29 November 2012

Official opening 2 November at 8 pm

Rupert Bagwell’s work for this exhibition was initiated by an interaction with the ideas of emptiness and balance and taking them as reference points during the creative process.

The exhibition and the images are presented with working titles as descriptions. The thought behind this is to allow ideas of fixity to remain outside the presentation and let a primary sense of fluidity emerge from the work.

Rupert Bagwell lives in Liscannor, Co. Clare and is a studio artist at the Courthouse Gallery in Ennistymon.

“Je ne Sais Quoi”

The Courthouse Gallery will host

“Je ne Sais Quoi”

A series of French Evenings

Continuing on  Tuesday 30^th October 2012 @ 8 pm

 with “Paris, je t'aime”

  €3 on the door includes a glass of wine.

The aim is to watch a movie, and afterwards have an informal discussion in French with a glass of wine.

'Stories In Clay'

'Stories In Clay' , a ceramic project by third year art students of Scoil Mhuire,  

in the Gallery

 Friday 26th Oct at 6.30pm.

All welcome

Congratulations to the Third year Art Class in Scoil Mhuire, Ennistymon who  exhibited their artwork ‘Stories in Clay’ in the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Dublin on Sat 13^thOctober. The exhibition showcased work by 29 of the 80 schools nationally who were awarded funding for their projects from the Creative Engagement NAPD committee in 2012.

The exhibition was officially opened by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deehihan. This is the first time that Creative Engagement has held a national exhibition and it is a very prestigious event.

Minister Denehan had high praise for the students’ ceramic sculptures. The students explained the concept of their work to the minister. The five large clay vessels, with sculptural detailing illustrate the stories ‘The Salmon of Knowledge’, ‘The Children of Lir’, ‘An Glas Gaibhneach’, ‘Tír na nÓg’ and a Polish folk tale ‘The Dragon of Krakov’. Twenty six Scoil Mhuire students took part in the project which was funded jointly by the NAPD Creative Engagement and the Clare Arts Office and took place under the direction of their art teacher Mary Fahy.

It was a highly educational and thoroughly enjoyable project. The students wish to thank the NAPD, the Clare Arts Office, their principal, Seosaimhín Uí Dhomhnalláin,  art teacher MaryFahy and all who helped in any way with the project. Special thanks to Bairbre Geraghty for the use of the kiln for firing the sculptures and to our caretaker John Hayes for his help in transporting them.

This is the third ambitious art project in Scoil Mhuire that has benefited from both Creative Engagement NAPD and Arts Council funding. In 2010 the students of Scoil Mhuire performed a shadow puppet theatre show in the Courthouse Gallery with renowned Puppeteer Daragh Bradshaw, and in 2011 they held  an alumni art exhibition and series of workshops, also in the Courthouse Gallery. Thanks also to the staff of the Courthouse who regularly support our students in bringing their work to the wider community.

The ‘Stories in Clay’ sculptures will be officially launched in the Courhouse Gallery on Friday 26th October at 6.30pm. All are welcome, teas and coffees will be served on the night. An animated slide projection of the project will accompany the show.

This project was kindly supported by NAPD Creative Engagement, the Clare Arts Office and Scoil Mhuire, Ennistymon.

The students involved were as follows:

‘ TÍr na nÓg’ by Lauren McMahon, June O'Connor, Caoimhe Haran, Erin Flening, Nicole Mullane, Fiona Byrne-Boland and  Alice Creagh.

‘The Dragon of Krakov’ by Emma Waldron, Wiktoria Malicka, Rachel O'Brien and Fiona O'Brien.

‘The Salmon of Knowledge’ by Aideen Bonito, Aoife O'Gorman and Aoife Fitzgibbon.

‘An Glas Gaibhneach’ by Lily Donovan, Shannon Harriman, Katie Leigh, Chloe O'Looney, Rachel Meehan, Sarah O'Loughlin, Sarah -Mai O'Loughlin  and Aoife Rynne.

‘The Children of  Lir’ by Áine Mullane, Katie Considine, Katie O'Flaherty and Skye Stagno-Navarra.

 Pictured: Scoil Mhuire art students with Mary Henly NAPD Creative Engagement, Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht Jimmy Denehan and the Chairperson of the NAPD.

call for TRASNA III open submission

Dear Artists and friends of the Courthouse Gallery,

In December we will hold our third Trasna exhibition “Trasna III” in the main gallery of the Courthouse.

We will have an open theme and we cordially invite all artists, both established and emerging artists to submit max. 3 artworks through our open submission and submission is free.

The official opening will be on Friday 7^th December with an auction and the reserve price will be €40 on each piece. 25% of the selling price will be donated to the running costs of the gallery the remainder to the artist.

Last year we had a great response to this exhibition which featured both national and international artists.

So anyone out there who is interested in submitting A5 size artworks or if you know an artist who would like to submit please encourage them to do  so.

How do I submit?

A5 postcard submissions from artists should be a maximum postcard size 20 x 15 cm in any medium.

You can submit maximum 3 artworks. 

All artworks need to include Title & Name of the artist, Telephone and E-mail address on the back of each piece.

Please include also a self addressed envelop with stamps if you want us to send the work back when it is not sold.

Deadline for submission is Thursday 29th November!

Please send us an email to request an application form to ennistymoncourthousegallery@gmail.com 

and both should be mailed or hand delivered to:

Attn : Trasna III submission,

The Courthouse Gallery,

Parliament street,

Ennistymon,

Co. Clare.

Trasna III and Christmas Party in the Courthouse Gallery

Friday 7^th December at 8 pm

Trasna III  exhibition will run from 7^th December to 4^th January.

Nights In Shanaglish

Wednesday 24^th October @ 8pm

 

A preview of

“Nights In Shanaglish” DVD, LP, CD, and transcriptions booklet

Nights in Shanaglish are a group of local performers, musicians, storytellers, and singers in North Clare / South Galway including the following:

 Susan Fogarty (fiddle), Séamus Keehan (whistle). Niall Finnegan (guitar and vocals). Joe Kearney (vocals). Colie Moran (banjo) Brian O'Halloran (vocals). Mary Noonan (vocals) Vincey Keehan (guitar, mandolin, vocals, and lilting)

 Others include: Anthony McGrath (guitar and vocals) Paddy Egan (concertina and dance) Rosie Keehan (vocals) and Paul O'Driscoll (double bass)

 Paddy Egan and Vincey Keehan are the directors of the project.

 www.nightsinshanaglish.com.

8 pm -  preview of the Film “Nights in Shanaglish” (Gallivanting Media) with an introduction by the directors of the project -  Paddy Egan and Vincey Keehan.

At 8.30pm, question and answer session about the documentary for 5 minutes.

9.45 - a performance with some of the musicians from the recording, along with friends of the project from the group "Los Paddys de las Pampas".

No admission charge

From a review of “Nights in Shanaglish” by Tony Lawless (from Tony Lawless's Blog)

Nights in Shanaglish continues a recent trend of live recordings that take place in non studio environments such as kitchens, churches and village halls.  Ideas that have germinated in the minds of musicians over a quiet pint or phone conversation finally take shape and come to fruition.  This is one such idea, and what an inspired one it is.  The idea of live music from a well known pub is not so new.  However in this instance the musicians involved have  sought to really capture the essence of a live session, portraying as it does rural life in Ireland.  For anyone that has been to one of these more rounded sessions you will know that they are not simply gatherings of purists playing only traditional music.  The best ones incorporate a lot more.  Their guiding ethos is one of raw, down to earth traditional Irish music, songs, stories and recitations. Nights in Shanaglish also steps beyond the simple CD format and is a full multimedia project which consists of a gatefold vinyl, a DVD documentary on local history and folklore, interviews with local people, footage of the natural landscape as well as the live recording in action.  The idea came from Vincey Keehan and Paddy Egan, regulars at the sessions in Whelan's Pub in Shanaglish, south Galway where the recording took place. It is therefore a community project involving many local people from south Galway and north Clare and has been independently directed and produced by Vincey and Paddy.

 (Tony Lawless)

 http://tradconnect.com/profiles/blogs/album-review-nights-in-shanaglish.