Ancestral Houses W B Yeats Inspired Exhibition opens in Beijing for #YeatsDay 2023

in association with

Embassy of Ireland to China | Hong Kong VA Galleries | LolliGo Art Space

One hundred years ago, in November 1923, W.B Yeats was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

This year, on the 13th June, the poets birthday, Hamilton Gallery will mark this anniversary with the opening in Beijing of “Ancestral Houses”, an exhibition of paintings by artists from across Ireland, as part of the cultural programme of Ireland’s Embassy there.

The exhibition comprises individual paintings from artists all over Ireland, in response to the suite of poems “Mediations in Time of Civil War” which Yeats wrote in 1921.

To accompany the exhibition, a new short video has been produced by Hamilton Gallery. Filmed by videographer Sligo Peter Martin in the beautiful setting of Temple House in County Sligo, the short film carries parallel readings from Ancestral Houses in both English and Chinese, while the cultural context of the poem is explained by Yeats Scholar Sean Golden.

Ancestral Houses | Produced by Hamilton Gallery in association with the Embassy of Ireland to China | Film by Peter Martin | Filmed at Temple House County Sligo

Hamilton Gallery extends special thanks to the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Irish Embassy in China for their invaluable involvement in making this significant cultural project possible, and also to the owners Temple House and the family of W B Yeats for their help in creating the film. The exhibition will travel from Beijing to several other major cities in China until the end of 2023, as part of the cultural celebrations surrounding the centenary of W B Yeats’ Nobel Prize.

#YeatsDay

Hamilton Gallery proudly sponsors the annual world wide social media celebration #YeatsDay each year

We are delighted again this year to support the Yeats Society in Sligo with the roll out of this wonderfully popular communal celebration of some or our greatest literature

Spring Exhibition: Rapture, Terrain & In the Past

Hamilton Gallery is delighted to announce the opening of its Spring exhibition, Rapture, Terrain & In the Past. The show combines the work of three accomplished artists, Cathy Carman. Catherine Fanning and Stephen Lawlor. The artist’s individual character, through their chosen medium, colour palette and subject matter, gives this exhibition an exciting energy and serenity in equal measure.

Cathy Carman presents Rapture, a collection of 8 figurative sculptures in bronze, displayed on plinths of wood and steel. The plinths Cathy chooses are an important element to the artworks as they ‘contextualize and counterpoint’ the expressive poise of her human figures.

‘For me these sculptures are about Rapture; about a manifestation of ecstasy, joy and passion. I find the female form carries a sense of being as otherness, so one could say the work is a personal perspective on being female. Bronze is a material with broad spectrum of possibilities from cold to warm as well as strength to fragility. There is something solid about bronze, and then the colours I use are sometimes rich reds or subtle hues, with which I try to capture various emotions.’ Cathy Carman

For more information on Cathy Carman please click here.

Carried Away in Bronze on a Steel plinth

Sligo based visual artist Catherine Fanning, presents Terrain, a collection of 17 pieces of mixed-media artworks inspired by the natural world. Catherine’s creative process combines collage, acrylic ink, and paint on canvas and plaster, resulting in a wonderful mix of vibrant colour layering and pattern.

‘I collect small botanical pieces, such as seed pods, wildflowers, grass, and leaves. These finds, with their delicate forms, intricate patterns, and natural tones, decorate my studio space and become a reference for my work. They give me a starting point from which my work evolves. I will often work on several pieces at a time, as I enjoy an expressive and experimental way of working.

My artworks can be either representational or abstract depending on the subject, which varies but there is always a connection somewhere to nature.’ Catherine Fanning.

For more information on Catherine Fanning please click here

Planted Seeds - Acrylic Ink and paint on canvas

Garden of Thoughts - Acrylic Ink and paint on canvas

In the Past, in an exhibition of paintings and prints by Stephen Lawlor. These curated pieces represent his exploration of European Paintings from the 13th to the 19th century. The majority of the prints are based upon portraits of powerful women that range across time to bring them into the present as echoes of their iconic presence. In contrast to his prints, Stephen’s paintings are more landscape or scene oriented and hover between figuration and abstraction.

‘My prints and paintings connect in a strange way, but all are imbued with an historic reminiscence that contains a strange sense of nostalgia. For me past and present are not that far apart.’ Stephen Lawlor.

For more information on Stephen Lawlor please click here:

Veneto 1465 Acrylic on Aluminum 25 x 30cm

Vienna 1515 - Acrylic on Aluminum 25 x 30cm

Terrain, Rapture & In the Past continues until until 27 May.

St Brigid's Well exhibition returns as a celebration of feminine creativity

St. Brigid’s Well exhibition returns to the Hamilton Gallery on the 4th February, as the nation and other countries around the world celebrate the life and work of St’ Brigid, patron saint of creativity, protector of the vulnerable and Goddess of Fire. The exhibition includes work by almost 100 female Irish artists, including fresh work by our own gallery artists together with newly invited artists.

To leave the dead end behind, Angela Fewer

From a Dark Place on the road, Grainne Dowling

The exhibition is themed around a specifically commissioned poem by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin as part of Lá Fhéile Bríde 2022, the global celebration of Women and Creativity initiated and run by Irish consulates and embassies around the world.

We look forward to inviting artists and friends of the gallery to a reading of “St Brigids Well” by Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin to officially open the exhibition on Saturday 4th February at 12 noon.

View The Exhibition

Hamilton Gallery has been a significant contributor to the Irish Foreign Ministry inspired Brigids Day / Lá Fhéile Bride celebration of women and creativity since 2019, hosting a series of invited artists exhibitions centered on the life and work of influential Irish women such as Leland Bardwell, Eva Gore-Booth and most recently Eiléan Ni Chuilleanáin.

Hundreds of Irish women artists have contributed to these exhibitions which have been shown in Sligo, Dublin and London, and in association with Irish Consulates and Embassies in New York and Berlin.

Martina welcoming everyone to the 12 Star Gallery exhibition and celebration of the life of Leland Bardwell in London, 2019.

Martina Hamilton has been representing and promoting Irish artists through her work as a gallerist and curator for over 30 years. She has built relationships with embassies around the world to generate awareness and interest in contemporary Irish artists with a particular focus in women’s creativity. This year, she has been invited to participate in a short film commissioned by the Department of Foreign Affairs to commemorate St. Brigid’s day. The film aims to appeal to audiences across the world and is ‘a celebration of creativity and feminine energy.’

In pre Christian ancient Irish mythology, Brigid appears as a fire goddess, as a member of the Tuatha Dé Danann, the daughter of the Dagda and wife of Bres, with whom she had a son named Ruadán. She was the god of numerous skills and qualities including wisdom and poetry. She had curative and protective powers. She was also the god of fire as well as being the god of metal forging and blacksmithing.

Her qualities were so numerous and significant that she may well have been a triple Deity, or indeed that she had two sisters, Brigid the Healer and Brigid The Smith. Her feast day was known as the Celtic celebration Imbolc.

With the onset of Christianity in Ireland she became Brigid of Kildare, and ranks as of the nations 3 patron saints alongside St Patrick and St Columba.

Many legends and myths surround the wisdom, gentleness, ferocity and miracles of St Brigid's life to match her pre-Christian influence and power. Pre-eminent is the story of how she wove crosses from wild Irish rushes, a tradition carried on throughout Ireland to this day.

Offerings St. Brigid’s Well, Hilary Morley

‘Having St. Brigit’s Day as a National holiday is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate women’s creativity today whilst keeping alive the enduring traditions that are associated with Brigit such as weaving crosses from rushes and giving thanks for our health and general wellbeing.’ Martina Hamilton

St Brigid’s Well exhibition continues until Saturday 25 March.

A Winter Gathering – A group exhibition of invited artists

With over 20 of our own gallery artists together with exciting new talent, we are delighted to present our Christmas exhibition that incorporates a diverse mix of styles, genre and medium that we hope will excite the senses and reach deep into your soul.