From April 17 to May 8 Claremorris Gallery will present Telling Images, a selection of paintings by Peter Burns and Mary Noonan. A preoccupation with narrative runs through the work of both Mary Noonan and Peter Burns. Mary Noonan’s paintings relate to orally transmitted Irish folk tales which have transcended generations and crept into the Irish collective unconscious. She has playfully explored the etymology of the tales that have become richly overlaid in their retelling. The artist’s often sinister images frequently feature children and animals in incongruous situations and relate to the notion of the changeling, prevalent in Irish folklore.
Peter Burns approaches narrative in more epic terms. His heavily textured paintings allude to biblical stories, art history, literature, and music. Burns uses a variety of techniques to enliven the surfaces of the paintings. Chunks of old dried paint from the palette are attached to the canvas in places, while on other parts of the canvas paint is scraped off revealing underlying layers. Telling Images will run at Claremorris Gallery from April 17 to May 8. The gallery is open from 1pm to 6pm Wednesday to Saturday.
