THE BURREN, Ireland's strangest and most fascinating landscape, one of the world's finest examples of a glacio-karst landscape, is the subject of a new exhibition in The Kenny Gallery.
Triptych, A Burren Journey, exploring the region through the paintings of Michael Gemmell, Jim McKee, and Manus Walsh, opens Friday May 27 at 6pm, with guest speaker Dr Brendan Dunford, of the Burren Beo Trust.
Due to The Burren's unusual environment, the region supports many rare Irish species of flora and fauna, and Arctic, Mediterranean and alpine plants side-by-side, and the ‘otherworldly’ quality of its landscape, has often been called 'lunar'. As such it is no surprise the region fascinates artists. Walsh and McKee live there, while Gemmell is a regular visitor since his years in Art College in Limerick.
“Much of my work is like a bird’s eye view of the Burren," says Gemmell. "I concentrate on the effect rather than merely depicting the scene, in order to achieve a delicate balance of abstract and representational imagery through colour, tone and form. I hope...my paintings convey a calm beauty revealing the power of nature."
The exhibition run daily, from 9am to 5pm, at The Kenny Gallery, Liosbán Retail Park, Tuam Road, until June 30. Admission is free and all are welcome.
