Luan Art Gallery, Athlone
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A new modern art gallery has opened in Athlone. The Luan Gallery is the first of its kind in the Midlands, and cost almost three and a half million euro to build. School children from the town got a sneak preview of its first exhibition.
Launch of Storylines at Luan Gallery, Athlone
Featuring the works of 4 contemporary Irish artists, Storylines will showcase the works of painter Gordon Farrell; stained glass artist Peadar Lamb; and graphic art and design duo James and Michael Fitzgerald - The Project Twins.
Looking at narratives in art, Storylines presents an array of artworks with varying levels of storytelling and translation.
The exhibition was officially launched on Friday 24th June with a wine reception. The exhibition will continue until 14th August 2016.
The paintings presented by Longford artist Gordon Farrell are inspired from the stories contained in the Lebor Gabála Érenn (The Book of the Taking of Ireland), a loose collection of poems and prose narratives recounting the mythical origins and history of the Irish from the creation of the world down to the Middle Ages.
Cork based artist Peadar Lamb’s stained glass works use hand-made glass and a variety of techniques, some of which have changed little since the 11th century, such as acid etching, painting and staining to create contemporary unique pieces.
The Project Twins’ use of minimal forms and bold shapes are rooted in the visual language of graphic design and semiotics. The Cork based pair are interested in the use of a universal language and its ability to convey ideas, information and narratives.
From illustrative painting and conceptual design to minimal geometric symbolism, Storylines examines the communicative power of visual art in a modern era.
Video courtesy of Calvin Doyle.
Launch of Mark Garry An Afterwards at Luan Gallery, Athlone
Luan Gallery is delighted to announce its first exhibition of 2017 entitled An Afterwards which features the work of Irish installation artist Mark Garry. The exhibition, which features new work dedicated to the architectural design of Luan Gallery, launched on Saturday 11th February at 6pm.
A native of Mullingar, renowned contemporary installation artist Garry has created delicately considered site specific installations reflective of time spent visiting relatives in Athlone as a child. Garry says of his exhibition:
‘When approaching exhibition making I try to make works that respond both to architectural space and a social situation. While there are consistent materials and apparatus’ employed in each exhibition, I respond to each situation with a new set of conceptual criteria’.
Garry has held exhibitions at museums and art venues in Europe, North America, Australia and Asia and was one of the artists who represented Ireland at the 2005 Venice Biennale. Most recently Mark has exhibited at the Serpintine Gallery London, RHA Dublin, Whitebox Gallery New York, Galleria Civica di Modena Italy and The Hugh Lane Gallery and the Douglas Hyde Gallery. Garry’s work is held in many private and public collections including The Arts Council of Ireland, the collection of Arthur and Carol Goldberg and The Foundation to Life, New York.
This collection of new works by Garry dramatically transforms Luan Gallery, creating an environment that is at once considerate and quietly spectacular. The exhibition which is accompanied by a small publication written by Rachel Kilburn will run from February 11th until April 22nd 2017.
Video courtesy of Calvin Doyle.
Opening of John Kingerlee Exhibition at the Luan Gallery, Athlone
BEYOND THE BEYONDS - opened 16th January 2016
A retrospective exhibition celebrating the work of John Kingerlee from 1962 to the present day
Launch of If Not for You and Living in a Bubble at Luan Gallery
If Not for You by Eoin Francis McCormack and Living in a Bubble by Susanne Wawra was officially launched by independent Curator and Curator in Residence with Roscommon County Council Linda Shevlin on Friday 3rd August 2018 at Luan Gallery.
Athlone based Eoin Francis McCormack uses the idea of 'artist as maker' as a catalyst for his work. Utilising fabricated tools and self mixed paint, he translates this idea into form. His work also explores the particular challenges posed by the process of interpretation in contemporary visual art.
The artist wonders if work produced in the quiet of the studio has the potential to make an impact on an audience once presented to the public. McCormack holds a BA in painting from Limerick School of Art in 2010 and an MFA in Contemporary Art Practice from Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland in 2014.
Susanne Wawra is a German artist based in Dublin. Working across different media, Susanne explores the intersection between personal autobiography and historical events.
Utilising photographs from her own family albums, Wawra draws on printed matter to interrogate her experience of growing up in East Germany before the fall of the Wall. Her use of mundane source material combined with the layered process of collage enables a material re-imagining of the tension between fiction and reality, past and present.
Wawra is a Painting graduate of NCAD. Susanne has been named as one of the four artists of 50 People to Watch in 2017 in The Irish Times.
Video courtesy of Calvin Doyle.
Feature on Luan Gallery on TG4's Imeall
Luan Gallery feature on TG4's Imeall
Launch of The People The Land at Luan Gallery, Athlone
Following the success of '100', a mixed media group exhibition featuring artistic responses to the 1916 centenary theme, Luan Gallery is delighted to present their second specially scheduled centenary show: The People The Land.
The Official launch of The People The Land took place on Friday 15th April 2016. James Connolly Heron, great grandson of James Connolly officially launched the exhibition at 6pm with Proinsias O’Rathaille, grandson of The O'Rahilly also in attendance that night.
History and portrait painter Tom Byrne will show 16 new art works based on the topic of the 1916 Easter Rebellion. This series of work features the 16 executed rebel leaders and includes paintings of Thomas Clarke, James Connolly, Patrick and Willie Pearce and Thomas Kent.
The Land features Paul Woods’ work, showcasing 6 new paintings also on the theme of the 1916 Rising, completed in an abstract expressionist fashion. Woods works looks at the scars and devastation of the land caused during the fighting.
The exhibition is open until Sunday 19th June 2016
Video filmed with kind permission of Calvin Doyle.
Luan Gallery Athlone
A visit around the Luan Gallery Athlone paulgill.ie
Culture Night Portrait Marathon at the Luan Gallery, September 20th 2019
An excerpt from a live-streamed drawing event for Culture Night 2019 at the Luan Gallery, Athlone, Ireland. I drew 16 portraits, each taking half an hour. The sitter here is Emma Finneran
Launch of DECADE by James Hanley RHA, Luan Gallery 1st November 2013
Courtesy of the film making skills of Conor English
Luan Gallery Beyond the Beyonds
Launch of Beyond the Beyonds by John Kingerlee on Saturday 16th January 2016. Beyond the Beyonds is a special retrospective exhibition celebrating 50 years of Kingerlee's artwork.
The Launch was introduced by Journalist and RTÉ broadcaster Sean O'Rourke. Guest Speakers included Ros Drinkwater, fine art columnist from The Sunday Business Post, The Very Revd Dr Michael Jackson, Archbishop of Dublin and Bishop of Glendalough.
Athlone Arts and Tourism would like to thank all of our guest speakers and visitors who attended the launch, especially to the artist John Kingerlee, and art collector Larry Powell.
Video courtesy of Calvin Doyle.
Luan Gallery Athlone
A visit around the Luan Gallery Athlone paulgill.ie
Dynpha Bonfield exhibiting in Luan's Gallery Athlone
Dynpha Bonfield exhibiting Soul Space in Luan's Gallery Athlone
Launch of LUMA by Helen Mac Mahon and ENCOUNTERS by Nerosunero at Luan Gallery
The exhibition was officially launched on Friday 30th June 2017 with an address by Dr Ruby Wallis.
Luma by Helen Mac Mahon features in the New and River Gallery spaces while Encounters by Mario Sughi is shown in the Library Gallery.
Official Launch of 100 Exhibition at Luan Gallery
The Official launch of 100 took place on Friday 4th March 2016 with Guest Speakers Sinéad McCoole, Author, Curator and Historian and Gearóid O'Brien, Librarian, local historian and author, officially opening the exhibition.
To mark Ireland 2016 Centenary Year, 100; a mixed media group exhibition presenting responses to the 1916 Rising centenary theme took place at Luan Gallery, Athlone from Friday 4th March – Friday 15th April 2016.
Video filmed with kind permission of Calvin Doyle.
Artwork unboxing video - Without the Words Exhibition, Luan Gallery. Opening 5/11/16 at 6pm
Luan Gallery is delighted to announce its winter exhibition for 2016 entitled Without the Words. Celebrating the art of illustration, Without the Words is a group exhibition selected especially for Luan Gallery which showcases the brightest talents of Irish Illustration today.
Artwork featured in video by Steve Cannon.
Launch of Water Table by Marie Hanlon and SO MUCH WATER [so] CLOSE TO HOME by Bernadette Kiely
Water Table by Marie Hanlon and SO MUCH WATER [so] CLOSE TO HOME by Bernadette Kiely was officially launched on Saturday 03rd February at Luan Gallery, Athlone.
Water Table by Marie Hanlon will feature in the New Gallery while SO MUCH WATER [so] CLOSE TO HOME by Bernadette Kiely will be shown in the Library and River Gallery spaces.
Dublin based Marie Hanlon uses water as a catalyst throughout her upcoming exhibition. Utilising a mixture of sculptural elements, Marie creates an art installation that addresses the notion of water as both a precious resource and an environmental threat.
Utilising oil paint and charcoal and water on canvas, Bernadette Kiely's work reflects her observations of flooding over many years on the River Nore where she lives, and aims to draw attention to the instability created by flooding in Ireland and throughout the wider world, including her depiction of the River Shannon in flood.
Launch of RTÉ All Ireland Drama in Luan Gallery
Courtesy of the film making skills of Conor English
Launch of Jealous Wall at Luan Gallery 1st September 2017
Jealous Wall launched on Friday 1st September at Luan Gallery, Athlone. Curated by visual artist and curator Séamus McCormack, a London based Mullingar native, the exhibition features work by Miranda Blennerhassett, Niall de Buitléar, Janine Davidson, Adam Gibney and David Eager Maher.
The exhibition borrows its title from an architectural construction ‘The Jealous Wall’ which was built in the midlands of Ireland in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, c.1760.
Using concepts, ideas and themes that the structure, its history and form suggest, the exhibition brings together artists’ practices exploring the baroque, illusion, memory, site and architecture. It features a range of works in various media including installation, video, sculpture and drawing.
Video courtesy of Ryan Hoey