RDH: DECEMBER 2020

December 31, 2020 in art, contemporary art, drawing, reflective diary post, painting, northern ireland, visual art

01/12/20

…wrapping

Ars longa, vita brevis.

02/12/20

‘A Brush with… Ragnar Kjartansson’ podcast

“Art is a shelter from a storm” - Ragnar Kjartansson

“Raking It In” Pen on Paper — “*Raking It In*” Pen on Paper

03/12/20

An opportunistic pitch to pat themselves on the back.

04/12/20

“Soaking Up The Sun” Pen and Marker on Paper — “*Soaking Up The Sun*” Pen and Marker on Paper

NT - how you might approach and on what grounds.

06/12/20

“Norwegian” notes: warmer flesh tones? Texture in sand (sawdust?)

“Swivel Study” Pen on Paper — “*Swivel Study*” Pen on Paper

07/12/20

Some really good sketchbook work done tonight.

“Just This Once” Pen on Paper — “*Just This Once*” Pen on Paper

10/12/20

Commended for the Moth Art Prize 2020!

"Norwegian Stance" WIP

Malala Study

Thought I had destroyed “Norwegian Stance” a few times today but it’s a stubborn git. In any case it was good to get paint down.

…some sketching work tonight but not much.

11/12/20

One minute I think the painting is finished and then a wee niggly bit pops up.

“Norwegian Stance” all but finished. — “*Norwegian Stance*” all but finished.

14/12/20

Sketchbook work … but I’m distracted a little.

15/12/20

Belfast. Three months on…

“La Loge” in the Ulster Museum. Absolutely stunning to see in the flesh — “*La Loge*” in the **Ulster Museum**. Absolutely stunning to see in the flesh

Seeing “Hotel ‘78” with the name tag beside it made it all the more real. Great to see around the RUA.

Jaunt to the Golden Thread Gallery. Absolutely stunning show “Put It To The People” by Joy Gerrard. I’ve seen similar small scale works before but the larger canvases are amazing! Real gestural mark making at it’s finest.

Joy Gerrard at the GT

Peter Liversidge at the MAC

"In a Rainbow of Coalitions"

The Peter Liversidge show in the MAC is at such an epic scale. Uplifting messages and cool to see the workstation tucked away at the back. The “In a Rainbow of Coalitions” show in the MAC was colourful, fun and poignant.

18/12/20

What’s been lacking recently is the idea of structure. Lists are missing. I love lists. I think this happens around this time every year.

… large scaled drawings - add a link between the pen drawings and paintings…

20/12/20

“Pacing in Isolation” Pen and Marker on Paper — “*Pacing in Isolation*” Pen and Marker on Paper

23/12/20

27/12/20

Inspiration is not reliable. Keep curious and critical. You don’t know everything and never will. Perfect conditions don’t exist so stop waiting for the ‘right’ time. Art is not who you are - art is a way of expressing who you are.

29/12/20

Tidying loose ends.

30/12/20

Doing these semi-traditional write ups at this time of year helps to take stock of what’s been happening. Hopefully subliminal pointers of where to possibly go next have been planted for the time ahead.

Exhibition Highlights: 2020

December 29, 2020 in exhibition, contemporary art, art, visual art

Usually at this time of year I do a run down of my favourite shows I’ve been to the past 12 months. It will be a short list this time around so I also want to include some exhibitions that I couldn’t get to see but wish I had.

The Shows I’ve Seen…

“The Dark” - CCA Derry/Londonderry

Darren Banks, Liz Collini, Sinead McKeever and Agnes Meyer-Brandis

CCA Derry/Londonderry

Sinead McKeever

Liz Collini

From the CCA website: The Dark presents a constellation of new and existing works by artists from Northern Ireland, England and Germany. The artists look out into space, back at Earth and consider science fiction, fact and artist projections.

This group show was my first look at Liz Collini’s work first hand, making you slow way down when reading the intricate architectural scaffolding around the text. Sinead McKeever’s globe with continents of charcoal eroding away speaks of climate change but also of other threats.

“A False Dawn” - Ulster Museum, Belfast

Ursula Burke

From the Ulster Museum website: A False Dawn is the culmination of Ursula’s recent work. Much of her art practice deals with issues of representation and identity, exploring abuses of power in both social and political sphere.

This exhibition taking up the two large rooms on the fifth floor of the Ulster Museum holds the space impressively with the aid of the ambient lighting. From a distance the busts are classical in nature but look a little closer there are signs of trauma and violence.

“Put It To The People” - Golden Thread Gallery, Belfast

Joy Gerrard

From the Golden Thread Gallery website: Gerrard’s most recent work documents the huge protests against Brexit in London between 2018 and 2019. Here, her monochrome palette comes to invoke the binary oppositions of contemporary British politics, its elemental simplicity belying a more complex meditation on the imaging of protest.

I have admired Joy Gerrard’s work for some time and to see them up close was a feast for the eyes. The small works, which I’ve seen similar before, are delicate in their application but it was the transition to the larger scale works that took my breath away. The imagery still has the immediacy of the smaller works but it was the gestural mark-making on the larger works that brought the crowds in the protests to life.

The Shows I Wished I’d Seen… (and one I still hope to)

“Penumbra” - FE McWilliam Gallery, Banbridge

Sinéad Aldridge, Hannah Casey-Brogan, Susan Connolly, Sarah Dwyer, Fiona Finnegan, Alison Pilkington, Yasmine Robinson and Louise Wallace

From the FE McWilliam Gallery Website: Penumbra brings together artists who are connected by their gender, their associations with the island of Ireland and their commitment to testing the limits of painting.

A painting exhibition with artists of this calibre should have been right up there on shows to get to this year. Sadly it wasn’t to be. No two artists in the show are alike and that shows the dexterity and the medium of painting still has in the right hands. Susan Connolly’s installations always push what defines a painting and I would have loved to have seen Sarah Dwyer’s paintings first hand.

“Echoes are Always Muted“ - VOID Gallery, Derry/Londonderry

Alan Phelan

From the VOID Gallery website: Alan Phelan’s exhibition echoes are always more muted is part of an expanded series of exhibitions that encompass his continuing research into the intersections of history, sexuality, material culture and politics which have evolved through sculpture, participatory events, and photography.

Alan Phelan’s multidisciplinary practice has explored the Joly photographic process for some time and this show seems to have included augmented reality that seems really engaging. This exhibition looks as though it was a colourful exploration of historical elements with the usual injection of humour and I’m sorry to have missed it.

“Obedience and Defiance” - IMMA, Dublin

Paula Rego

From the IMMA website: Obedience and Defiance is a major retrospective by one of the most influential figurative artists of our time Paula Rego. Spanning Rego’s entire career from the 1960s, comprising more than 80 works, including paintings never seen before and works on paper from the artist’s family and close friends.

Rego needs to introduction as she is probably one of the most influential artists working today so to get to see a large retrospective like this on the island of Ireland has to be a not-to-be-missed event. Thankfully it is running until May 2021 so all being well I will get down to see the works in the flesh.

RDH: NOVEMBER 2020

December 01, 2020 in art, art studio, drawing, contemporary art, reflective diary post, visual art, painting, work in progress

01/11/20

Focus required…

…reaching it back to integrity of practice.

Large scale drawings?

02/11/20

Eventual studio time - detail of “Misunderstood” in progress — Eventual studio time - detail of “*Misunderstood*” in progress

03/11/20

Great to get imagery into some semblance of order.

“Thinking through making.” - Joy Gerrard during interview with GTG. Watch here.

06/11/20

“Misunderstood” finished. — “*Misunderstood*” finished.

07/11/20

Reusing one canvas and starting another.

08/11/20

…settling back into a new routine… still healing.

10/11/20

11/11/20

IMMA Talk: From the Rego Studio.

13/11/20

Limbo-Land yet again.

14/11/20

Finding it difficult to concentrate with all going on. Just wish that aspects were sorted so that some kind of routine could be adhered to.

Some results but not all.

Detail of “Norwegian Nude” - work in progress. — Detail of “*Norwegian Nude*” - work in progress.

…giving up the ghost on the little ‘go cart’ piece. It just went stale but that’s OK. It wasn’t the right time.

16/11/20

19/11/20

Absolutely baltic in the studio.

20/11/20

Mostly focused on “Norwegian Nude” today but building up layers on other pieces too.

Left to Right: “Troublesome” - “Shock” - “Norwegian Nude” — Left to Right: “*Troublesome*” - “*Shock*” - “*Norwegian Nude*”

22/11/20

Detail of hand in “Norwegian Nude” in progress. — Detail of hand in “*Norwegian Nude*” in progress.

Really good progress today.

23/11/20

BP 158/113

26/11/20

Site update

27/11/20

Really great online talk from the Garter Lane Arts Centre: Chloe Austin in conversation with Matt Higgs, Kitsch Doom, and Ciara O Neill.

Did a few quick sketch of the speakers as they discussed their practices.

29/11/20

…readjust, centre, breathe and focus on what matters.

30/11/20

After having a long, hard look at “Troublesome” - came to the realisation that figure is complete. Nice to leave it loose in parts. It explains what it needs to without having to divulge anything else.

Bit of building work in the background and it’s finished.

Decorations are up and a little winter halo to round off a very odd month.

RDH: OCTOBER 2019

November 09, 2019 in exhibition, contemporary art, drawing, art, reflective diary post, visual art, painting

01/10/19

“A puncture - a level of emotion” - Zarina Bhimji

Mental health does not and should not define who we are.

03/10/19

Umbrella destroyed by storm but the opening of “Bardo” was great. Great support from friends and a wonderful text written by Gemma Murphy.

09/10/19

“Sress is the killer of creativity” - Jamian Juliano Villani

11/10/19

Doodles to burn.

12/10/19

‘Cooley’ is gone. Very stale so had to go. A really old image of Helen has replaced it. It’s been a long time since I attempted this image.

Mask and orchard idea. Sucker for attempting old failures.

17/10/19

Placed…

The prodigal ipod returns after nearly a year missing.

19/10/19

“Study of Helen” - image is nine years old and I’ve tried to tackle it many many times but only now does it feel like I am making any sort of headway. Difficult to describe. “No Regrets” - push and pull between the two images.

20/10/19

Conscious decision to limit the palette initially. Sometimes there can be too much choice - especially when starting a new piece. Thinking that by limiting colour in the first stages it can help focus in on tonal values and composition a little more.