LINENHALL ARTS CENTRE

Linenhall St, Castlebar, Mayo.

T: 094 9023733

E: linenhall@anu.ie

W: www.thelinenhall.com

Friday 2^nd - Saturday 31^st May

Siobhan McGibbon - The cultivation of a fallacy

Siobhan McGibbon’s practice is predominantly sculpture-based. Her work derives from a fascination with “extraordinary medical conditions that essentially force the host to exist on the edge of anatomy”. The artist examines the boundaries of anatomy through a series of investigations that engage with the notion of misconception and the cultivation of a fallacy of an illness or medical condition, resulting in and imagined inner bodily landscape created from a collective of misinterpretations. The work is influenced by the evolution of clinical teratology, the historical study of abnormalities both real and imagined, and by the modern scientific study of teratogenesis - from the Greek meaning ‘monster making’ - the study of abnormal growths in the foetus, and questions whether the misconceptions of the uncanny body have assisted in the formation of socially accepted notions of “normal” anatomy. Siobhan McGibbon is an Irish artist based in Roscommon. She graduated from GMIT in Galway in 2009, and has exhibited nationally and internationally.

Adm. free

Official opening on Friday 2^nd May at 7.30pm. All welcome.

Saturday 17th May, 2.00pm-5.30pm

NATIONAL DRAWING DAY | Quick on the Draw -A Portraiture Event Marking National Drawing Day

To celebrate National Drawing Day, we’ve asked two accomplished artists, Gráinne O’Reilly and John Brady, to join us in the Linenhall Foyer and make quick drawn (approx 5-10mins) portraits of anyone wishing to sit for them. And while the sitter sits and is drawn, people will be free to watch the artists making the drawings. Each person drawn will be charged 5 euro, and will take the drawing away with them - an original artwork made and signed by a recognised artist - great value, we’re sure you will agree!

Gráinne O’Reilly is one of Mayo’s most prolific painters. She studied fine art at Sligo Institute of Technology and her work has been exhibited throughout the country, including solo shows at the Linenhall Arts Centre and Westport’s Custom House Studios. She is currently also a presenter on Westport Community Radio’s Arts Show WRFM 98.2.

Painter and visual artist John Brady produces work which is a playful mix of contemporary concerns, personal motifs and the everyday. Based in the West of Ireland, his painting and various other art works have been collected by AIB Bank, Bank of Ireland, OPW, The Law Society of Ireland and Alliance Français.

So come along on the day, watch and enjoy, and maybe even come away with a personal piece of artwork by a real artist! And in the process, celebrate the creative act of drawing with us.

ÁRAS INIS GLUAIRE

Áisleann Bhéal an Mhuirthead, Belmullet, Mayo

T: 097 81079

Asylum Archive

This exhibition is directly concerned with the reality and trauma of life for asylum seekers in Ireland.

THE BALLINGLEN ARTS FOUNDATION

Main Street, Ballycastle, Mayo

T: 096 43184

E: baf@iol.ie

W: www.ballinglenartsfoundation.org

Fundraising Online Auction

An exciting fundraising online auction in aid of The Ballinglen Arts Foundation closes on 2nd May 2014. All work was generously gifted by artists, who have worked at Ballinglen, in order to support this great Irish charity. The work is of a very high standard so this is a wonderful opportunity to own an original artwork and support an organisation dedicated to the Arts. Join in the fun and place a bid. Check out the website :  http://bafauction.weebly.com/

PAINTINGS OF ACHILL ISLAND

Solo exhibition of Oil Paintings by Alex McKenna

Opening at 6pm May 3rd 2014

At Western Light Art Gallery, The Sandybanks, Keel, Achill Island, Co. Mayo

www.achill-island.com

Guest Speaker: 

Dr. Gisela Holfter, Limerick University

Alex McKenna was born in North County Dublin and he has painted the Landscapes of Achill Island for four decades. McKenna's paintings are always based on his own experiences and his work reflect man's relationship with nature, whether it is in harmony or in conflict.

McKenna has a deep love of land, sea and wilderness, and in particular, the labour of men on land and at sea. This personal affiliation may be due to his family background and heredity. McKenna's grandfather and great-grandfather were both boatsmen; McKenna himself has a keen interest in maritime history and comes from a long line of fishermen on one side and farmers on the other. It is boat and land labourers that are featured in many of his landscapes. 

McKenna's works can be described as Impressionistic and indeed the artist himself names the French Impressionists as his main influence and above all Camille Pissarro. He is also inspired by the Irish artist Paul Henry and his views of the West of Ireland, which McKenna vividly recalls seeing in the G.N.R posters which adorned Irish railway stations during the 1950's. The gentle brush strokes and lively composition demonstrated by Irish artist  Maurice MacGonigal has also been assimilated into McKenna's works.

These influences combined with McKenna's love for the rural West and especially Achill Island with which he has had a long association help to create captivating landscapes bathed in light; a light which diffuses the canvas through his use of impressionistic brush strokes and golden tones, which contrast dramatically with the reds and blues that also dominate his palette. In his works, the figures are often as important as the landscape and he gives each figure an individual personality through a certain stance or gesture.

He has exhibited at the RHA and Oireachtas exhibitions as well as many of the major group shows both at home and abroad.

In 2008 and 2009 he has exhibited in group shows both in America, in the China World Trade Centre Beijing and in Australia. 

SWINFORD CULTURAL CENTRE

Further information please contact: tmelia@mayococo.ie or jryan@mayococo.ie

April 1^st to May 16^th

Swinford in Olden Days

An exhibition of photographs by internationally acclaimed photographer Liam Lyons.