Irish Art Scene

13th Jan 2012 (Fri) - 16th Jan 2012 (Mon) from 19:00 - 18:00 Makeshift Ensemble in association with WRKSHP @ Sample Studios presents: Let's Play! Design an exhibition of theatre design, comprisind set, costume and sound design. The exhibition comes as the fourth event of Makeshift Ensemble Let's Play! theatre development programme. The aim of this event is to showcase the design talent in Cork , introduce new designers and to put theatre design into the limelight for once and allow an insight for the public into this aspect of theatre. The exhibition is also preceded by a two day workshop on theatre design for the participating artists which is facilitated by Lisa Lilywhite theatre designer. Opening Times: Friday 7pm Official Opening (drinks and a DJ) Saturday 10am - 6pm Sunday 12am - 4pm Monday 10am - 6pm Let's Play! is supported by the Arts Council and the exhibition was made possible with the generous suppor...

Art Studies 2012: Great Art in the Context of its Time Dates and Venue: 12 January to 29 March, Thursdays 6.30pm, Gallery Lecture Theatre. This series of twelve talks will explore what constitutes great works of art: antiquities, stained glass, paintings, sculpture, museums, architecture and interiors.  12 January - What is a Masterpiece? Nigel Rolfe, Artist, Senior Critic, University of Pennsylvania, School of Design; Chelsea College of Art; Fine Arts Course Tutor, Royal College of Art 19 January - Renaissance Master Sculptor - Michelangelo Dr Paula Murphy, University College Dublin 26 January - Masterpieces of Irish Antiquities Peter Harbison, Royal Irish Academy 2 February - Venetian Renaissance Master: Titian Dr Philip Cottrell, University College Dublin 9 February - Great 20th-century Architecture: Hans Scharoun's Berlin Philharmonie Professor Hugh ...

The Copper House Gallery will launch Coal Story , a photographic exhibition by Darek Fortas on Wednesday 11th January 2012 from 6pm-8pm. Artist Anthony Haughey will open the exhibition. Coal Story , the first solo exhibition by Darek Fortas, is a result of an extensive photographic engagement with the two largest coal mining companies in the European Union located in Silesia, the most industrialised part of Poland. Coal Story combines contemporary photography and archival research dating back to the 1960s, when Poland experienced significant economic and industrial expansion. In the early 1980s, coal mines were a major site of struggle and resistance against the communist regime. Workers’ protests resulted in the creation of Solidarity - a workers’ and citizens' movement under the leadership of Lech Walesa. The coal miners actions eventually led to the collapse of communism and the end of the Cold War. This exhibition is part of the inaugural Fire Propeller Competi...

When I started researching for this article I was not sure which way it would go as I had not really thought much about is Graffiti art a valid means of expression. Some of its of course is just tagging hence like many I tarnished it all with the one brush. With the emergence of Banksy onto the British Art Scene many people have begun to see Graffiti art in a new light. Ireland has always had Graffiti artists working not only in urban areas but has peoples attitude to Graffiti changed? "New York is Killing Me" by ADW which only lasted a few days on Abbey Street Dublin   Graffiti can be and is a means for artists to get their work viewed by a mass audience that otherwise would not step foot into a gallery, until recently would not have been shown in many galleries across Ireland.  So what exactly has changed? for one graffiti has become more technically sound and have become more about what the artist wants to say rather than just a form of tagging, it ...

Our current Artist in Residence, Zin Taylor, will give a talk in The Model on his practice on Wednesday December 7th at 6pm. Zin has become known internationally for his elaborate installations encompassing elements of performance and sculpture along with drawing, printing, and video. Narration is an essential ingredient of much of Taylor’s multifaceted work, and his stories are often culled from the undergrowth of popular culture (more specifically underground music scenes) and contemporary art lore. Journalism, research, storytelling: not surprisingly, both the spoken word and the printed word figure prominently in Taylor’s practice and many of his installations have also been accompanied by publications and/or artist books. The talk, as much as it will be about his work, will traverse a wide variety of influence, anecdote and past history to arrive at the basic principle behind what it is Zin Taylor does – the development of thoughts about a subject in...

“Returning” is an exhibition of works by local artist Georgia Hopkins. The paintings are atmospheric seascapes and landscapes inspired by the natural beauty of Cork and West Kerry. Artist’s Statement ‘Returning’  I chose ‘Returning’ as a title for a number of reasons. Initially it was a literal, working title, as I would be returning to the lovely Alliance Franҫaise de Cork gallery of my first solo exhibition. As I thought more about it however, this title resonated on a number of different levels. The very fact of having this exhibition necessitated my own returning: to the painting process, to the quietness of mind that that both allows & demands, and to my enduring source of inspiration, which is the wonder and beauty of the natural world. It is always a great pleasure to return to my inner connection with nature, to the universal energy, to the place in us all that makes us both unique in spirit yet connected with everything and everyone else. ...

 Structure is John Macormac’s new solo exhibition of recent works on card, paper and wood. The title refers to the artist's interest in combining different elements and techniques to construct works that provoke a subjective sense of atmosphere, and a relationship of entities that coheres in the mind of the viewer. The artist combines collage, oil paint, acrylics, emulsion, ink, spray paint, conte crayon, chalk, felt tips, pencil and anything else that appeals. Found photographs and fragments of text can be included because of a personal sense of meaning, or purely as passages of visual ‘noise’. The work does not start with a finished image in mind. Rather it carries a sense of practical progression; each new area suggests the context and space for the next aspect of the piece. The artist will often work on several at a time. Pieces are often playful, while rough edges and accidents are encouraged. The work is in a constant state of evolution and reinvention. L...