Last Saturday we had the pleasure of opening Tribes & Tribulations, a new solo touring exhibition of sculptures and poetry by award winning artist Helen Merrigan Colfer.
Ancestral Houses Opening in Beijing
We are delighted to share a selection of photos from the opening reception of Ancestral Houses on June 13th, #YeatsDay, this week at LolliGo Art Space Beijing.
The opening celebration included poetry readings, a panel discussion and interactive children’s events.
On behalf of all participating artists and of all of us here at Hamilton Gallery we sincerely thank Ambassador of Ireland to China, Ann Derwin, and the incredible Irish Foreign Ministry staff at the Embassy of Ireland to China, for making this cultural event happen.
We also send our deepest thanks to Vincent Deng of VA Galleries who has curated the exhibition in LolliGo Arts Space, and to all of the staff at this gallery for hosting the reception and associated events.
Ancestral Houses will visit four other cities, Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing and Hong Kong as part of the cultural programme of Embassy of Ireland To China.
Ambassador of Ireland to China Ann Derwin who opened Ancestral Houses at LolliGo Arts Space, Beijing.
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
Blackbird on my Shoulder in Bronze
Rapture 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:
It got Quiet - Etching 22 x20cm
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.