Luan Gallery is delighted to announce its autumn exhibition entitled Lullaby which will feature the work of celebrated Mullingar artist Patrick Graham. The exhibition, which will include some new and previously unseen works by Graham, will launch on Saturday, August 20 at 6pm with a wine reception, to which all are welcome.
Born in Mullingar in 1943, Patrick Graham’s natural gift for drawing was spotted and nurtured by a sympathetic art teacher, Diarmuid Larkin, who mentored the young artist, helping him secure a scholarship to the National College of Art where he studied from 1959-1963.
Graham went on to achieve great international success, being championed early in his career by the actor and influential art collector Vincent Price. Price’s patronage helped him secure representation across the pond with Jack Rutberg Fine Arts Inc in LA where his works rapidly grew in popularity and value.
Luan Gallery curator Aedin McGinn says: “It is with great pride that we present the work of world-renowned midlands artist Patrick Graham in the celebratory spaces of Luan Gallery.
“This exhibition is a landmark show for Luan Gallery as it brings the work of an international art star ‘home’ to the Midlands where it can be viewed by a midlands audience in a midlands gallery.
“It’s such a triumph to be able to show Graham’s works, which have been admired in museums and galleries across the world from Japan to New York, in a space of equal measure right here in Athlone.”
Patrick Graham has had significant influence on the Irish art scene and is credited by some as changing the face of Irish art in the 1980s with his introduction to neo-expressionism. A member of Aosdána, Graham’s exquisite draftsmanship and expressive layering of images and text have seen him widely regarded as one of Ireland’s most important contemporary artists.
The subject of numerous international museum exhibitions and symposia, Graham has impacted artists, critics, and historians on both sides of the Atlantic. Internationally acclaimed art historian and professor of art history Peter Selz has stated: “With the exception perhaps of Anselm Kiefer, Patrick Graham is the only 20th century artist who can take his place among the great masters spanning the Renaissance to the present day.”
Lullaby, presented in partnership with Hillsboro Fine Art, will run from August 21 until October 28.
This important Luan Gallery show will offer a temporary home for contemporary masterpieces by one of the country’s most noted living artists, made all the more special by its midland connection. Luan Gallery are delighted to welcome schools and groups for talks and tours throughout the exhibition run. Guided tours are free of cost and available on request to all.
Luan Gallery is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11am-5pm and Sundays from 12-5pm. The gallery is closed on Mondays.
