'Instinct11' New paintings by Rita Wobbe from Sep 16 - Oct 13, 2011

     'INSTINCT 11'


     RITA WOBBE
      new paintings 

'The power of abstract painting lies in its richness of ambiguity and possibility of human expression. Over the last 100 years abstract painting has been shifting bounderies and questioning our perception of reality.

The painting process is a form of 'mapping the brain', using references from the outside world which enter and disappear. These references become one on the 'overall' surface of the painting. In fact the painting itself becomes the subject and the object; it carries its own reality. At times the painting seems to be alive; it breathes in and out. The layers of paint are like a skin over the skeleton of an animal. A painting is, it does not have to be explained.

Instinct, emotion and observation of natural phenomena are the main ingredients of this body of work. For me painting is 'contained emotion and energy'. During the painting process everything gets transformed into a physical object which I can let go of when it is finished. Most of the time a painting really finishes itself because everything I do suggests another thing until it becomes complete.

Abstract painting uses different means of expression. Colour, line, form, plane, surface texture, etc. are freely used as elements during the creative process.

In this body of work I am using a lot of vibrant colour. Going to the Canaries during the winter months changed my colour scheme drastically. In response to the bright light I started using brighter colours. Colour stimulates, it carries emotion, it can be seductive and calls for action and reaction. Colour is unpredictable, infinite in its combinations which makes it so interesting. It can manipulate and influence your mood. I am interested in the never ending game of possiblities.

In all my work I have been using structure as a starting point. In the past it used to be 'the grid', usually drawn onto the paper or created by using sand and varnish on the canvas. The grid helps me to control and contain the 'freeflow' of paint. These days I am more interested in organic structure and organic forms. In my mind an organic structure relates more to a female way of looking at life. I am interested in exploring this 'slightly different gaze' when making abstract paintings.

Abstract painting is challenging; it gives the viewer 'more to do' when engaging with  'a process of transformation'. It allows us to re-experience the thrill of making and creating a piece of art. After all it is a platform for free expression which we all like to enjoy and appreciate'.

Rita Wobbe has been working as an abstract painter for many years. She studied art in Germany and at Limerick School of Art and Design (MA painting 1998-2000). Over the last 20 years she has been exhibiting in Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands. For the last 10 years she has been running abstract art workshops from her own studios near Kinvara, Co. Galway. She also teaches abstract painting at the Burren College of Art during the summer

In the winter she spends some time in Lanzarote, Canaries which had a great influence on her work and colour scheme. Nevertheless the Burren has been her home and her main source of inspiration.

Find further information on www.ritawobbe.com
  

Katrina Morrison Photography exhibition of: Abbey's and Ruins - In The Red Couch Space - September 10th – October 13th

official opening by Willie Daly (Matchmaker) at 5pm Sat 10^th

wine and cheese reception open to the public

 Katrina Morrison would be best known for her landscapes and has exhibited at numerous venues here in Ireland as well as mainland Europe and America. She received national recognition for her work during the Volvo Ocean Race 2009 and was invited to show her work in Seattle Washington during the Irish Festival this past March and is now happy to present us with her ongoing project of Abbeys and Ruins, “I have been travelling around for over five years in Ireland and am never stuck for something amazing to photograph. It may a landscape today or I may find myself awestruck by a stone carving that I find tomorrow. This exhibition will show a few things from County Clare you may never have seen and it is my hope that it might inspire someone to get out and look around at what we all sometimes take for granted, the beauty that is right in front of us”.

REFLECTION

RACHEL BURKE                     

and ERIN TREACY

REFLECTION

August 13th to September 8, 2011.             

 

Rachel Burke is exhibiting a series of new paintings from the west coast of Portugal, that echos the coastal environment of Ennistymon and also reflects on the memory of a trip away. The paintings of the sea induces a sense of 

 reflection and nostalgia , the open vastness and ever changing landscape of the ocean enables an inner personal exploration . The work also deals with the relationship between land and  sea, the tension and balance between the two elements. There is an ambiguity between reality and imagination of remembered places created with the sketchy line from dip pens sitting on imaginary colours.

Burke works mainly with acrylic inks on canvas, using dip pens and brushes, to build up layered images. Ideas of identity and nostalgia are explored through the importance of line, texture and the familiarity of pattern. These paintings embody a sense of the fleeting of time. Confident draughtsmanship combined with a subtle palette of painterly intimacy creating images suggestive of the intangible realm of visual memory.

Originally from Cork, Rachel Burke is now a Kilkenny based artist. Since graduating from the Crawford College of Art and Design eleven years ago, Burke has exhibited extensively, and has many pieces in both private and public collections including the Northern Ireland Office of Public Works, Republic of Ireland Office of Public Works, AIB, Credit Union, University College Cork and Kilkenny Educational Centre. Her paintings have been selected to participate in the 180th, 178th and 175th Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Group show.

Erin Treacy recently returned to the states after completing a Fulbright Fellowship in County Clare.

Being exposed to a wide variety of landscape fuels Treacy's creativity. In addition to her own excursions she has been fortunate to participate in artist symposiums/residencies throughout Ireland, Italy, Italy. The Slovak and Czech Republics, and Finland. Treacy has had numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout the US and Europe, where her work is also held in public and private collections. Following this exhibition at Ennistymon Courthouse Gallery, Treacy will have a solo exhibition in Pittsburgh, Pa, USA at the Boxheart Gallery.

Treacy received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2004 with a concentration in painting. She then went on to receive her Master of Fine of Arts from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth in 2007.  Treacy currently lives and works in Sunnyside, Queens.

Treacy’s mixed media paintings focus on creating new abstracted ‘environments’ out of fragments of memories concerning place. 

New work from this year introduces architectural imagery into my paintings for the first time.  Stairs, bridges, walls, fences, windows, doors, and ladders are now interlaced into the abstract compositions. These connectors, entrances, and borders are loaded with many connotations. Bridges, stairs, and ladders create union between disparate spaces, they offer paths to overcome physical obstacles that keep you from going from point A to point B.  Fences, walls, and windows enclose a space offering protection, yet the associated confinement of these structures can also be associated with restriction and possession.

These dualities reflect upon her past work where she focused on the fantasy and falsity in memory. By referencing a mental index of locations that are simultaneously everywhere and nowhere, she examine the idea that shifts in time and overlaps in memory result in a disjointed timeline.

                                                                                                  

Sorge's performance "Sunrise" on the opening night 4th Aug at 8.30 pm

the link for Sorge's performance on YouTube...

http://youtu.be/9HNanact7wQ



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As part of the festival there will be exhibitions, films and installations from various artists in venues around Ennistymon town:

As part of the festival there will be exhibitions, films and installations from various artists in venues around Ennistymon town:

Fiona O’Dwyer: Location: Byrnes Townhouse & Restaurant, Main St, Ennistymon.

”Shoes to collect the cheque in” (1,350 Used Stamps and Yes Glue)
Fiona O’Dwyer: WORTH… Work in progress by visual artist Fiona O¹Dwyer.  Her work crosses a range of media including drawing, sound/video installation, sculpture, performance and print. Her practice increasingly references the cinematic, engaging with both the narrative content in, and the making of, film.

James Slevin: Location: the Blue Frog Café and Arts Venue, Ennistymon.

Hand carved wooden objects.

Opening: 7pm - Friday 5th August

Marianne Slevin: Location: Fitzpatrick’s (Old Super Value shop), Parliament St., Ennistymon.

 "The Mycelium and Earth Regeneration Series": An exhibition of drawings on maps which are local to the Burren as well as other places. The works include text about the place and the time they were being made in Doolin.

Alexandra Rafferty: Location: OH LA LA, French Creperie.

2 Video pieces: “Ram Project” and “Inside Out”.

Vincent Wall: Location: Wall's Shop Window, Main Street, Ennistymon.

“Davorenia” - A Tribute to the T-Shirt Stylings of Michael Davoren.

Format: Multimedia Installation

Marie Hannon, Monica de Bath, Eimhin Hawes: Location: Tides Shop, Main St. Ennistymon

Marie Hannon’s practice is primarily concerned with the social environments and conditions that have a bearing on who we are as individuals and as a people.

Monica de Bath is currently exploring the complexities of stories that go beyond ideas of legal ownership and dig deep into a people's relationship with Land, with each other and the urgent need to make a living.

Eimhin Hawes: ‘The Horde’ is an installation work that explores the global problem of colony collapse disorder in honeybees.

Deirdre O’Mahony: Location: the local Ennistymon Post Office.

 shows a video about the X-PO in Kilnaboy.

Maria Kerin: Location: Good Night In, Video Store, The Square, Ennistymon.

shows the video performance that she made on Raadi airport Tartu Estonia. 

Also "The Price of Flour"- consisting of 50 unused Estonian paper flour bags will appear in shelves around the shops of Ennistymon. They were designed by Michael Walsh. The artist sees them as small artworks highlighting the price of flour at different times over the Estonian past.

Pauline Keena: Live performance on Main St. Ennistymon. Sunday 2pm

The human form is the most important subject for her. Using the body as metaphor for local she engages the language of stillness, silence and repetition to explore moments of transition from lostness to listening.

Fergus Cronin:  Live performance in a public place in Ennistymon for 2 hours, Sat or Sun (or both) : “I NEED TO BELONG”

PANEL DISCUSSION on the Power of Local - Sat 6th Aug at 5 pm

PANEL DISCUSSION on the Power of Local

PANEL:

• Marge Laast,  http://www.vedelik.edicypages.com/en
• Dr. Igor Calzada,  http://www.igorcalzada.com
• Transition Towns, Roisín Ní Ghairbhith
• Zena Hoctor, Community Charter of the Burren http://www.burrenbeo.com/trust/burren-charter
• X-PO, Kilnaboy, Philip Gaston http://x-pokilnaboy.blogspot.com/
• Fiona Woods,  www.fionawoods.net

• moderator: Cormac Mac Connell

OPEN STUDIOS : the resident artists in the Courthouse Gallery welcome the public to see their work in progress during the festival the Power of Local.

Jackie Askew will be showing work in her studio from 

"The Counting Prophetess" Exhibition.... work from Iceland .

Ann Vaughan  will be showing 'Ar Aghaidh Linn!'  ( Off We Go!)

This will be a series of Drawings/Sketches based on observations of people 'on the move', again from snapshots from the Prom in Lahinch, where it all happens!

 

Liz Moloney  ‘Curious’: The inherent curiosity of animals and her immediate environment has influenced her recent work, photography and observational drawings often develop into finished pieces.

 

Sara Foust: ‘An Unreasonable Fear of Loss’ an installation 

of photography, paintings and other works dealing with memory.

 

Michael Hanrahan: 

Will show his recent work including paintings of the local area 

and also work from his travels.

Painting by Michael Hanrahan from the historic Royal visit of Queen Elizabeth 11 to Ireland in May 2011. Painting depicts  both Heads of State in the memorial garden in Dublin which remembers the men and women who died in the struggle for Irish freedom.

ARTIST TALK by GARETH KENNEDY - FRIDAY 5th AUG at 5pm

                                                       IKEA-Aran Lobster pots, Ínis Oírr, Aran Islands, 2011

Gareth Kennedy’s work is invested in the potential of a socially engaged practice which addresses specific environmental, social, aesthetic and economic concerns within located contexts. Throughout 2011 he is working on two 'folk fictions' which stage encounters between globalised and localised material cultures in both the Aran Islands and East Kerry. For The Power of the Local, Kennedy will discuss the development and manifestation of these two distinct but related works.

Kennedy has received numerous awards and bursaries for his practice including several awards from the Irish Arts Council, a 2008 LAMA Award for best Public art work commissioned by  a local authority, Culture Ireland awards, and awards from several Irish Local Authorities. He has produced and shown work both nationally and internationally. In 2009, he co-represented Ireland at the 53^rd Venice Biennale. Kennedy also works on another distinct artistic practice called Kennedy Browne in collaboration with artist Sarah Browne.

www.gkennedy.info

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This session runs in partnership with Visual Artists Ireland and further training will be available in both Dublin (at VAI) and Cork (with the NSF) commencing in Sept 2011.  VAI is also interested in working with groups of artists who identify common training needs.

“About the VAI Professional Development Programme for Visual Artists

Visual Artists Ireland operates a wide range of professional development and education events throughout the year including workshops, peer discussion groups, talks and seminars. The delivery of this programme is greatly supported by our relationship with local and international visual art professionals and partner organisations throughout the island of Ireland. VAI works in partnership with Local Authorities, visual arts venues, artists groups and others, combining resources to support the professional development of visual artists at regional level.
This approach creates synergetic benefit by allowing for the development of a programme which is responsive to the needs of artists at local level and by providing capacity to expand the our programme and approach other strategic partners on a joint basis.''

THE TRANSLOCAL CONDITION - The Power of Local Festival

                                         'Koongarra', theweathergroup_U in collaboration with Jeffrey Lee (AUS)

                                                                 Split screen, single-channel video, 2010

The Translocal Condition, a screening programme of international artist films using The Translocal Condition as the organising principle.

Mahatama Ghandi said "Be the change you want to see in the world". 

The Translocal Condition takes the idea that the local is the exact point at which people can act in the interests of change. Each of the eight participating artists or artist collectives, drawn from around the world, show a film work that engages with specific local conditions. By focusing on action and possibility, these works place the capacity and the responsibility for change in the hands of ordinary people, wherever they find themselves. Every place is a local place; by acting trans-locally we build networks of change. 

The Translocal Condition is made up of works by; Kultivator (SW), Herbologies/Foraging Networks (FI/LAT), Nina Nordstrom (FI), Gareth Kennedy (IRL), Wapke Feenstra (NL), Jennie Guy & Claire Behan (IRL), Ahmed Nabil (EGY), theweathergroup_U (AUS). 

The Translocal Condition is a collection of minds project, curated by Fiona Woods.

www.collectionofminds.net