Category Archives: Art

“Sorolla: Spanish Master of Light” at The National Gallery (London)

Posted on May 6, 2019 by

The Sorolla exhibition in the National Gallery (London) stunned me. I didn’t know enough to have expectations, and then found myself in front of immense canvasses that spilled light and colour into the gallery. My absolute favourite was this one: … Continue reading →

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Contemporary Turner? Katie Paterson & JMW Turner at Turner Contemporary Gallery, Margate

Posted on January 27, 2019 by

“A place that exists only in moonlight” – Katie Paterson and JMW Turner (26th January – 6th May 2019) What a surprise it was to find the Turner Contemporary Gallery. I have to admit, the seafront at Margate looked fairly forlorn … Continue reading →

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Feminism, Brexit and the Irish Border: Rita Duffy at the Courtauld Institute of Art

Posted on October 19, 2018 by

“NEITHER HERE NOR THERE” (Images are low-res screenshots of overhead projections, taken on an iphone on the night. Go to http://www.ritaduffystudio.com for proper images) Edwin Coomasaru, a post-doctoral Fellow at the Courtauld Institute introduced Rita Duffy as ‘an artist getting … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Brexit | 7 Comments

Vividity (yes, that is a word) 

Posted on August 25, 2017 by

  In 1919 a town in Northern France donated a statue of the Sacred Heart to the Catholic Parish of Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) in memory of the Irishmen who fought and died in Flanders during World War 1.  Because … Continue reading →

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Barbara Hepworth at Tate Britain

Posted on September 7, 2015 by

Last year we were lucky enough to visit the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden in St Ives. It was a foggy day – I remember because this worked to our advantage. The fog dissipated soon after we arrived in … Continue reading →

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Melancholia (The Conference)

Posted on November 11, 2014 by

This weekend saw an extraordinary gathering at Collins Barracks: psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, academics and artists came together to watch and discuss three striking performances/screenings in the context of psychoanalytic theories of Melancholia.     We watched Lars Von Trier’s full length … Continue reading →

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How to be a Child? – a Carmel Benson Exhibition @ The Mermaid (Bray)

Posted on August 27, 2014 by

  “How to be a Child?” is the title of Carmel Benson’s latest exhibition. Themes familiar from the artist’s earlier work recur but in newly explicit forms: here, the solitary, watching figure is that of a young girl who faces … Continue reading →

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DWF Venue #6: The LAB, Foley Street (Sheena Barrett)

Posted on May 19, 2014 by

(Interview with Sheena Barrett, arts officer and curator @ The LAB) What and where is the LAB? The LAB is Dublin City Council’s Arts Office, a dynamic hub of activity housing a gallery, rehearsal and incubation space for a range … Continue reading →

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Patrick Scott (and Michael D) at IMMA

Posted on April 8, 2014 by

Is there anything nicer to do on a sunny Dublin Sunday than go to IMMA? Why a gallery, in such rare sunshine?  Good question. The long avenue stretching away to the Richmond Tower is one reason. The formal gardens, another.  A balmy walk … Continue reading →

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