Preview: Uisce Anam by Janet Pierce/Outside Inside by Trudie Mooney

We're continuing our new tradition of giving an opening day preview to our new exhibitions.

This evening at 6pm novelist Michael Harding will open our May solo exhibitions. We are delighted to welcome back to the the gallery two artists who have exhibited with us before, Janet Pierce and Trudie Mooney.

Janet' s exhibition 'Uisce Anam' features 14 new water colours inspired by her meditative practice of swimming every day in the lake waters near her home, when she lived in Counties Fermanagh and Monaghan. Her previous solo exhibitions with us include "Fusion" in 2010 and "Confluence; a merging" in 2014.

Trudie's exhibition 'Outside, Inside' features 17 still life oil paintings in the super-real style she is famous for. In each piece the outdoors, in the form of plants, branches and flowers is brought indoors, into a still life compositions of patterned cloth, jugs, crockery and other domestic utensils. Hamilton Gallery hosted Trudie's solo exhibition "Be still, Life" in May 2014.

The pictures were taken at 2 pm this afternoon, just before the final check on our listing detail - the paintings are happily still sporting their information tags - so its a real preview into the gallery shortly before opening. It was a glorious day outside too with the sunshine blazing through our Castle Street windows and glinting on the picture glass.

A most "traditional" exhibition opening.

An evening of music with legendary Irish musician Frankie Gavin launches "Aspects" by Jay Murphy and Brian Bourke.

Some moments are just too good not to share. On Thursday April 6th, Hamilton Gallery hosted the opening of "Aspects" an exhibition of paintings by Brian Bourke and Jay Murphy. The exhibition was opened by legendary Irish musician Frankie Gavin, and it was music that did all the talking on the night.

In this clip Frankie is joined in the Galllery by artist Brian Bourke on bodhran, Rick Epping on harmonica and Brian's son Malachy Bourke also on fiddle. As the camera pans left you'll see artist Jay Murphy and watching on, another legend of Irish traditional music Ben Lennon, who joined us on the evening.

Preview - "Aspects" by Brian Bourke and Jay Murphy

We thought we might start a little pre-opening tradition of giving an on-site preview of each new exhibitions just before it opens. What better exhibition to start with than "Aspects" a double solo show featuring Brian Bourke and Jay Murphy which opens at 6pm this evening April 6th 2017.

There's a feeling of completion, of a new exhibition settling into itself the morning before the opening. It's a particularly nice time for us working here as our environment has been completely transformed by each new show. Of course there's a few bits and pieces to be done - you can see the label tags waiting to be finalised in these pictures - but the space is truly ready and waiting for its all important first visitors.

The exhibition spans all three rooms of the gallery with over 40 oil paintings and also drawings in pastels. It's an exhibition where you can get truly immersed in the conversation between the styles of the two artists, with works often focused on differing aspects of the same landscape. The front room features Connemara landscapes by Brian.

The central gallery offers a series by Jay of twelve stone bridges along the canal between the Erne and Shannon. Paintings from her travels in Crete and Agadir contrast with a group of pastels on paper from her Wexford series.

The artists share the third room of the gallery where they both exhibit paintings from their recent residency in Rathnure, Co Wexford.

We're really looking forward to tonight. Legendary Irish musician Frankie Gavin will officially open the exhibition, so it might well be the case there will be a bit of music to go with the proceedings.