Image: 'The tree and you and me' 2012 Courtesy of the artist.

Adrian Duncan
How the Mighty have fallen
Monstertruck Gallery

Temple Bar

Dublin

Friday May 4th – Saturday May 26th.

Preview Thursday May 3rd

How the Mighty have fallen is a body of work comprising a video piece and an assemblage of objects. The sculptures are delicate, temporary, and in some cases barely perceptible constructions. These objects are installed in a manner that relates to the Monster Truck gallery space and its location. This work creates a situation that brings to bear the instability of the concept in relation to another unstable construction – the fleeting and unspeakable individual physical encounter.

This work sits between story-telling and sculpture. It is an attempt to describe something about compulsion and the artists interaction with material.

Variations of the work has been shown in The Joinery in 2010, and Queen Street Studios, Belfast in 2011. This work continuously changes, and the variation for Monster Truck will shift in emphasis conceptually, architecturally, and aesthetically relative to the previous two versions.

On May 17th at 6.30pm, there will be a reading by the artist followed by a talk in the gallery about the work.

For more information: http://monstertruck.ie

The Opera / Untouched: Varvara Shavrova
Official Opening: Thursday 3rd May, 8pm

Two exhibitions by Varavara Sharova

The Opera
Ballina Arts Centre

Untouched

Ballina Civic Centre

Co. Mayo

Official opening by Tanya Kiang

Director Gallery of Photography, Thursday May 3 at 8pm

Exhibition continues May 3 – May 26, 2012

During the month of May, Ballina Arts Centre will present two exhibitions by renowned multimedia artist Varvara Shavrova. Using the Ballina Civic Offices exhibition space and the Arts Centre’s own gallery space, the two exhibitions will run simultaneously throughout the month, with The Opera at Ballina Arts Centre and Untouched at Ballina Civic Offices

The Opera is Shavrova’s spellbinding insight into the fragile world of the Peking Opera, one of China’s most revered artforms.  The famous Peking Opera, when first encountered in a dilapidated tea house in Beijing, was to prove an epiphany for artist Varvara Shavrova. Fascinated by the high-pitched singing, the music, the dancing and the costumes, the artist set about documenting this ‘world of pure art’ in the video piece entitled ‘Opera’, including the archaic costumes (hand-embroidered silk); the two hour make-up application sittings, all shot at various Peking Opera performances, theatres, dressing rooms, and private meetings. ‘Opera’ is scored by Benoit Granieb (formerly Professor of Music at Trinity College, Dublin), combining traditional Irish and Chinese music.

Untouched is a photographic and multimedia show in which artist Shavrova juxtaposes the small farming community of Ballycastle in Co. Mayo, with one particular Beijing neighbourhood (pre-Olympics) that is currently undergoing a major redevelopment.
Using both visual and audiovisual frameworks, she juxtaposes and compares the lives of these two communities, and highlights the fascinating similarities in what determines how lives are led in two very different cultural and social environments.

Presented as a large-scale photographic installation, we see the stark black and white images of old Hutong neighbourhoods in Beijing set against photographs of abandoned cottages in rural County Mayo in Ireland.

Varvara Shavrova was born in Moscow, Russia. She lived and worked in London for over 15 years, with intensive periods of work also spent in Ireland. In 2005 she moved to Beijing, China, then travelling to Ireland where she now lives and works with her Irish engineer husband and their two young sons. Shavrova’s solo exhibitions span the globe including London, Dublin, Frankfurt, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Shanghai and Beijing.

Admission free. All welcome. Runs until 26th May.

For further information: www.ballinaartscentre.com

Alan Phelan, 2012 Courtesy of the artist.

Niamh McCann, Golden Calve, 2011 Courtesy of the artist & Green on Red Gallery

Cutting a Door
Curated by Robert O’Connor
Eastlink Gallery
Shanghai
April 13 – April 28th  2012

Eastlink Gallery is pleased to present Cutting a Door at the gallery’s Shanghai space. The exhibition includes works by Martin Healy, Nevan Lahart, Susan MacWilliam, Niamh McCann, Fiona Mulholland, Seamus Nolan, Alan Phelan, Amanda Rice.

The initial idea for the project was inspired by artist John William Waterhouse’s painting Magic Circle, 1886. The exhibition considers the idea of witchcraft and occultism in the current age at a time when belief structures are being explored and reinvented.

The origins and history of witchcraft have been intensely debated by practitioners, skeptics and historians throughout the last century, during which time we’ve witnessed a growing wave of interest in witchcraft. Much of this can be attributed to the work of just a handful of people – notably Margaret Murray and Gerald Gardner the man responsible for the creation of Wicca; the rising popularity in, and growing respect for, the study of anthropology in the academic world and, more recently, the incredible New Age phenomenon that has taken the West, especially America and the UK, by storm. The decline of the Christian Church in Western society since the 1950s may also have played its part in the process, in addition to the ease with which it is possible to source reading material in the digital age.[1]

1. C.J.Lewis, “The Origins & History of Witchcraft:” An Introduction.
A text by Wu Xiaofeng will accompany the exhibition.
Kindly supported by Culture Ireland and Cork City Council

For further information:
http://www.eastlinkgallery.cn/Exhibition.aspx?lan=en&c=sh

Image: 'Somewhere but here, another other place' 2010 Courtesy of the artist

Maria McKinney

Metropolitan Arts Centre

Cathedral Quarter

Belfast

April 20 – June 21, 2012

Dublin-based Maria McKinney’s intricate installations examine notions of boredom and how best to escape it. Created from ordinary everyday objects, her intriguing sculptures invite you to take a fresh look at familiar things. A recurring motif in her work is the jigsaw puzzle, which represents both a nostalgic pastime and a means of escaping the world around us.

Somewhere but here, another other place is constructed from jigsaw puzzles and stacked, domestic tables of varying shapes, styles and sizes. The jigsaw puzzles show different views of the fairytale Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria. This installation plays with our sense of perspective and navigation of space as the work unfolds before our eyes.
Artist Talk 
24 May, 6pm
Maria McKinney on her installations, themes and inspiration

For further information: http://themaclive.com/whats-on/maria-mckinney/

Image courtesy of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, ID # 2004.24.30015

Project Arts Centre

39 East Essex Street, Temple Bar

Dublin 2

April 12 – Jun2 16, 2012

Guest curator Vaari Claffy

A MacGuffin and Some Other Things uses a mix of video, sculptural installations and performance to investigate the role of the object, and its function, or consequence, in relation to a script and includes work by Lucy Andrews, Isil Egrikavuk, David Hall, Alice Rekab, and Judith Scott.

The gallery will be split horizontally to create two viewing levels, a forced division between the films, performed work and sculptural objects. Like a ‘MacGuffin’, in our story the physical divide becomes the object around which the show orbits but whose intrinsic role is not at its core.

A MacGuffin and Some Other Things continues to run in the gallery until 16 June.

In addition to events within the gallery, the IFI is delighted to present in collaboration with Project Arts Centre five special screenings of Claffey’s curatorial film-work This is Going to Take More Than One Night.  Directed by Neasa Hardiman, the film features work by Isabel Nolan, Bea MacMahon, Alice Rekab and Sarah Pierce. The work also addresses the place of the object within the script or performance. One of the starting devices was a form of ‘exquisite corpse’ – each artist ‘left’ something for the next to incorporate into their section of the production.  These free screenings will take place on April 17, and 19 – 22 inclusive, at 13.10 each day.

For further information, see: www.projectartscentre.ie

Image: 'Alles wege sind verschlossen' 2012 Courtesy of the artist.

Stephen Loughman at Volta NY, New York

March 8 – 12th , 2012

Kevin Kavanagh is pleased to present, Stephen Loughman’s new series The Fisherman’s Widow, which takes its name from a print found on the wall of the room of one of Jack the Ripper’s victims. Each painting takes as its source a “grab” from a film (Dressed to Kill, Klute and from the Life of the Marionettes). These images come preloaded with associations embedded within the narrative thread is the prelude to a violent act. For Loughman, the act of painting these images functions as a distilling method which slows down and fetishes what is only a few seconds of film time. The titles of the works are taken from the scripts of the respective films.

Stephen Loughman visually reinforces that strangely separate quality in which we experience our lives as part of some other narrative. We come to life in these landscapes which have been taken from realities elsewhere, versions of ourselves that have pre-existed us in imaginary form, in another medium, a cross-reference, fictionalised somewhere in the past by culture and commerce.
Text by Hugo Hamilton, taken from Nothing is Real, Stephen Loughman & Mark O’Kelly (2008)

Further information available at: www.kevinkavanaghgallery.ie

LEAN
Mary A. Fitzgerald & Marc Reilly
Preview 2nd February 6pm-8pm

The LAB.
Foley Street,
Dublin 1

A drawing using volume, structure and shadow.

LEAN has been created specifically for the Cube space at the LAB. The scale and content of this work has been dictated by the double height of the CUBE space, which is viewable from outside and in and also from above, three distinct viewpoints. The combination of structure, ambient light and sound, with projected film and fragmented recorded sound allows the opportunity for a narrative to be imagined.

A drawing will be constructed within the space. The materials for this project have been gathered and altered over the past number of months. The Hazel from woods in Wicklow, the sound recordings from various locations in Dublin, and the footage, a selection of studies of light, shadow and movement, recorded in the autumn as chance permitted.

The work emerges as a series of decisions in response to materials and the space, between the artists, as they gather, manipulate and install. The CUBE is a unique venue for the meeting of these disparate fragments.

This is the third in a series of drawing based collaborations between Mary A. Fitzgerald and Marc Reilly. The first piece Here and There was shown as part of Culture Night, at Independent Studio Artists in 2009, followed by INVISIBLE a group exhibition curated by Margaret O’Brien, John Graham and Oliver Dowling at The Back Loft and eleven venues across Dublin in 2010.

For further information:

www.thelab.ie

Image: The Opera, courtesy of Varvara Shavrova

Varvara Shavrova | The Opera
The Gallery of Photography, Dublin
January 20 – February 26 2012

To celebrate Chinese New Year 2012, the Gallery of Photography is presenting the Irish premiere of The Opera, Varvara Shavrova’s spellbinding work on traditional Peking Opera.

The Opera is an artist’s insight into the fragile world of the Peking Opera, one of the most revered artforms of the Chinese national scene.

The work focuses on the transformation from male to female, and from female to male, of the Peking Opera artists. Balancing moments of pure visuality with behind the scenes footage, the video underscores the striking avantgardist qualities of this most traditional of artforms.

The Opera is accompanied by a specially commissioned score by composer Benoit Granier which incorporates elements of traditional Chinese and contemporary electronic music.

The Opera is complemented by related works in other media, including limited-edition photographic prints and two time-lapse projection works. Also included are selected pieces from Windows on the Hutong, a series of photographic lightboxes with sound, which offer a fascinating glimpse into the street-life of Beijing’s traditional alleys.

The launch event takes place on Friday January 20th at 6.00pm, when The Opera will also be projected outdoors on the big screen at Meeting House Square. The exhibition marks the keynote visual arts event of the Dublin Chinese New Year Festival.

An exciting programme of Family Events will take place in the Gallery during the Festival.
Saturday January 21st – The Opera Make Up workshop, in association with Design for Stage & Screen Make-Up students of IADT. Transform yourself into a Peking Opera character – and record your transformation in a short time-lapse photo sequence to take home with you!
Sunday January 22nd ­– The Opera Family Portrait & Costume Studio. Choose from a selection of Han Dynasty style robes and make your own Family Portrait, Chinese style!
All events are free, booking is essential, 01 6714654.

About the artist: Born in Moscow, Shavrova studied fine art at the Moscow Poligraphic Institute. After 15 years in London, she moved to Beijing, where she lived and worked for over five years. Now based in Dublin, Shavrova has recently been commissioned by Espacio Cultural del Tanque, Tenerife and will be exhibiting in the Museum of the History of St Petersburg in Spring 2012. Her work is in many important public and private collections. She is represented by Patrick Heide Contemporary Art, London.

For further information, press images, or to arrange an interview with the artist, please contact Darragh Shanahan, Gallery of Photography Ireland on info@galleryofphotography.ie 01-6714654

www.varvarashavrova.com

Image: 'Manhattan's Wolf' Oil on canvas 2011 courtesy of the artist.

The Crossing | Gabhann Dunne

Friday 20th January – Friday 9th March 2012

Preview Fri. 20 January 2012

“Things separate from their stories have no meaning. They are only shapes.” (Taken from “The Crossing” by Cormac MacCarthy, Picador, 1994). “The Crossing” illustrates Gabhann Dunne’s capacity to tell a captivating story through the medium of paint. Cerulean tones enchant, bidding the viewer to explore the underlying tale that this artist delicately treads through his work.  Exploring the tradition of the romantic landscape Dunne considers marginalisation as it occurs in the animal world and it’s reflection on humanity.

Gabhann Dunne studied fine art in the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and recently completed a Master of Fine Art at The National College of Art and Design (NCAD).  He is the 2011 RDS Taylor Art Award winner and has in the past won the Craig Hennessey Scholarship award and the Whytes Award for his entry to the 2009 Royal Hibernian Academy’s Annual Show.

This is a touring exhibition curated by VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art, Carlow.

www.gabhanndunne.ie

Image: courtesy of Liam O'Callaghan 2011

Bit Symphony
Liam O’Callaghan
16 December 2011 – 4 February 2012
Preview & record launch: Thursday 15 December, 6 – 8pm
Temple Bar Gallery + Studios / 5-9 Temple Bar / Dublin 2

Bit Symphony is an audio-visual installation consisting of an assemblage of turntables, amplifiers and speakers, reconfigured and manipulated so as to autonomously perform a complex musical composition of looping records. Liam O’Callaghan creates the sound by forcing loops, changing speeds, warping and physically scratching records, fading volume in and out and altering tones. Through these simple techniques the original sound is altered to be unrecognisable from it’s source and transformed into something new entirely; a series of unique sonic/music compostions.

As is the case with most of O’Callaghan’s work, the aesthetic of Bit Symphony is lead by necessity. The function of each component of the installation is clear, and no attempt has been made to hide the basic methods and materials used to make the work operate the way O’Callaghan wants it to. With no auto tuner or auto timer in sight, the music cracks, clicks and creeks it way along with it’s own interior sense of purpose, in and out of time, through noise, sound and music and those moments inbetween, wherever they may lie. All the work’s blemishes are there to be heard and deployed as the players, independent of a performer, spin into action and work to find and maintain their own harmony.

O’Callaghan’s starting point was the desire to make music, and how, as an object-making artist and as a non musician, to achieve this aim. The resulting work borrows some of the musical vocabulary of early tape loops technics from the mid 60’,s and sampling technics of the 70’s onwards. While it is difficult to classify the compositions into any one type or genre of music, it is clear that O’Callaghan has achived his aim of making music while also creating a hypnotic and engaging art work.

Liam O’Callaghan’s work uses found, used and discarded objects to create  sculptures that expose the methods or mechanics in their construction, challenging the viewer to construct meanings beyond their constituent parts. O’Callaghan’s sculptures and photographs delight the viewer with irreverence and humour, while also inducing meditations on the fragility and transience of life and the roll of improvisation in human endeavours. O’Callaghan has exhibited at, among other venues, The Irish Museum of Modern Art 2011; Dublin Contemporary 2011, the Douglas Hyde Gallery 2010; Rasche Ripken, Berlin 2009; Rubicon Gallery, Dublin 2008; the Royal Hibernian Academy, 2006

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