Luan Gallery will host a free virtual facilitated talk via zoom between exhibiting artist, Colm MacAthlaoich and artist and lecturer John Graham, on Saturday, June 19 at 2pm, the talk being supported by Creative Ireland and Westmeath County Council.
MacAthlaoich is currently showing a body of new work at Luan Gallery in an exhibition entitled PERCEPT. Mac Athlaoich’s paintings deal with ideas of materiality, process and perception. His work sits between figuration and abstraction, exploring the space between.
PERCEPT aims to address our ways of seeing and re-calling what has been told, how is an image, a scene and an object perceived upon a second viewing. Abstraction is a re-telling of an image, whether it is representative or not, it has gone through a process of re-telling.
Similar to the re-telling of a story, it is never flawless, there are liberties taken, pauses where there was once flow, verbosity where there was once restraint. The narrative is contained within the re-telling in the small incidental nuances of that action.
For Mac Athlaoich, the subject matter is just a pretext, observations. He is “interested in the incidental nuances in the process of painting when thinking about the abstraction of re-telling an image”.
“This is a great opportunity for members of the public and artists to learn about the artist. MacAthlaoich will discuss his practice, the work featured in the exhibition and his interest in perception with fellow artist and lecturer, John Graham,” Carmel Duffy, Manager of Luan Gallery, remarked.
Colm studied at NCAD Dublin and LUCA School of Art, Brussels where he is now based. He has been a member of The Graphic Studio Printmakers and The Black Church Print Studio and was co-founder and director of Monster Truck Gallery and studios, Dublin.
He has exhibited extensively in Ireland and Europe and has undertaken numerous residencies such as the Royal Hibernian Academy, Intercambiador Art residency, Madrid and others. His work is held in public and private collections. His earlier career and experiences as a printmaker, illustrator and musician informs his painting practice.
John Graham graduated from the NCAD with a BA in 1993 and an MFA in 2006. With a foundation in drawing and printmaking, his practice has included video and sound installations, writing and curatorial projects. He has exhibited widely in Ireland and internationally and his work is held in public collections including the Irish Museum of Modern Art, National Gallery of Ireland, Arts Council of Ireland among others.
His writing has appeared in artists’ books and gallery publications and he regularly publishes reviews for the Visual Artists’ News Sheet. He is a lecturer in the Yeats Academy of Arts, Design and Architecture (YAADA ) at IT Sligo.
Booking in advance is essential as spaces are limited. Please email [email protected] to book your place. This virtual talk is supported by Creative Ireland and Westmeath County Council.
