The Ballinglen Arts Foundation, set up some years ago by Margo Dolan and Peter Maxwell, has brought a series of artists to live and work for periods on the northern coast of Mayo, near the Ceide Fields. They have included Americans and English, Scots, Irish artists from the North and South, and the way in which the region worked upon their creative imaginations during the last five years can be seen in this informal "group" exhibition at the Gallagher Gallery.
One broad inference is that in spite of fashion and propaganda, landscape painting is far from dead; in fact there is a great deal of it on view, seen through a kaleidoscope of temperaments. (Purely on a professional level, I am pleased to note the inclusion of William Packer, who doubles his art with respected art criticism for the Financial Times). There are contributions from established landscapists here such as Sean McSweeney, Nancy Wynne-Jones, Mary Lohan, from abstractionists such as Richard Gorman, from graphic artists such as Diarmuid Delargy, and even sculpture from Conor Fallon. The Distinguished Visitors include Ken Kiff and Breon O'Casey (the latter is exhibiting in Dublin at the moment), as well as a considerable number of artists unknown or at most half-known to me. Marie Hanlon's neat, formal yet poetic abstraction is interesting, and so in a contrasting way is the free, lyrical style of Jason Hicklin. Ken Kiff's contributions are in watercolour, while Paul Chidester's small, quirky constructions are in acrylic on wood. Hazel Walker, Erica Lansley, Caitriona O'Leary, Kathy Herbert are all, in their differing way, strong personalities in the overall context of the exhibition. Since it is mounted on the big first-floor gallery it has to content with huge spaces, and does not always win; in fact, many of the works are shrunken in their setting (the inner rooms might have been preferable, assuming that they were available). Nevertheless it is a thoroughly worthwhile art event, courageously unfashionable, and a creative tribute to an admirable initiative.
Runs until November 29th.
