Open 10:30–5:00, Tuesday – Saturday
lucent
Charles Brady (Ire), Niamh Clarke (NI), Vincent Hawkins (UK), Hiroyuki Hamada (JN), Tjibbe Hooghiemstra (NL), Jamie Mills (UK), Janet Mullarney (Ire), Helen O’Leary (Ire), David Quinn (Ire), Seamus Quinn (Ire), Sean Sullivan (US) and John Van Oers (BE)
lucent is an exhibition of small works curated by artist David Quinn, including the work of twelve Irish and international artists.
‘Although I have curated quite a few exhibitions, I am first and foremost an artist, and not a curator. This exhibition is a very personal project. The work I have included, is by artists whose work and progress, I am always keen to see. I think there is a lot of truth, in Robert Motherwell’s quote, ‘every intelligent painter, carries the whole culture of modern painting in his head. It is his real subject, of which everything he paints, is both a homage and critique.’ To a greater or lesser extent, the artists in this exhibition, have been inspirational for me, or sometimes, it is just as Emerson said, ‘in every work of genius, we recognise our own rejected thoughts’.
One of the common threads, through the work of these artists, for me, is a sensitivity for materials, and for the quality of line. Most of the artists here, also blur the distinction between painting and sculpture. Their sculptures can be quite painterly, and there is a subtle tactile element even to their works on paper. The other thing that interests me, is that, it is often hard to pin down exactly, what the works are about (if that is what one is inclined to do). There is an inherent ambiguity, in lots of the work, a vague open-endedness. Also, the scale, that these artists often work on, is intimate and personal. The works are memorable rather than monumental, suggestive rather than didactic, playful rather than strict. Where there is order, it is often subverted and generally an air of gentle irreverence prevails. Ultimately though, the thing that draws these works together, for me, is that, they are made with the attentiveness, and care, that comes from a labour of love.‘
David Quinn, 2023
lucent is supported by an Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon Touring Award, initiated and developed by Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre (29 July to 9 September 2023) and touring to Highlanes Gallery Drogheda (10 February to 13 April) and Wexford Arts Centre (15 June to 7 August) in 2024.
John Van Oers, Don’t Appear Unkind, 2022, plaster, steel, plywood – Image courtesy of the artist
lucent opens with an Artists’ Talk introduced by curator David Quinn on Saturday 10th February at 3:15pm
Banner Image: Charlie Brady, For Jessica, April 1989 – courtesy of Taylor Galleries – Photography by Jed Niezgoda
Main Image: Janet Mullarney, Matisse’s Tree, 2007, bronze & painted plaster and Niamh Clarke, First Impression, 2020, graphite on paper – Photography by Jed Niezgoda
