Welcome

There's a new exhibition opening in Kerry's favourite little gallery on Friday, February 5th when Filament, a group of textile artists, come to Samhlaiocht. The exhibition, Uncommon Threads, opens on Friday, February 5th and runs for three weeks, featuring work in both 2D and 3D.

"Samhlaiocht is thrilled that Filament is exhibiting in the Gallery," said Trish Thompson, Gallery Coordinator. "Filament is a group of artists and it's great to be working with such a dynamic bunch. The exhibition will feature work by eight artists who are all members of the group and will offer an exciting mix and variety of modern and traditional textile techniques which will delight all who see it."

Textiles can be, by their very nature, fragile and Caroline Scholfield, one of the artists whose work appears, uses textiles to examine both the fragility of the human body and mind and our society, which encourages people to obsess about possessions rather than simply being comfortable with themselves.

Jean McKenna also loves working with fabric and thread, exploring the possibilities they offer in creating texture and colour, she dyes fabric and threads to create a rich palette from which to work, while pushing her skills in an experimental way to best express the love she has of textured surfaces. Her recent work is inspired by her garden in winter.

In fact, quite a number of the artists are inspired by nature. Hilary Bell, for example, draws on the landscape for inspiration. She is particularly moved by coastal rock and stone formations and feels the ancient past is hidden in the rocky landscape. She uses a variety of fibres and felting techniques to explore various surfaces and textures.

Shelia Jordan is similarly inspired and is interested in the delicate balance in nature, especially in the colours and patterns found in the everyday landscape. Working primarily in felt, she uses different varieties of wool, silk, bamboo, soya bean and cotton fabrics and sometimes even adds objects she has found. "Felting offers me an opportunity to slow down and work in a very tactile way," she says. "My current work is inspired by the coast where the colours of the sea and the quality of the light are magical with turquoise waters, beautiful stormy grey skies and foaming white water that washes up all sorts of treasures."

While nature is the inspiration for some of the artists, others are inspired by personal experience. Sarah Dawson's work is informed by a growing awareness of the huge influence which childhood experiences have. Her work is influenced by the transforming experiences of yoga, non-violent communication and mindfulness. Combining photography, textiles, natural materials, threads, wire and clays along with the written word, her work reflects these themes and her interest in texture and form.

Tara Ni Nuallain's mixed media textiles work is also a visual expression of personal experience. She is particularly interested in the marks we make on our environment, both those made deliberately and unconsciously, with her work using mixed media textiles. She also focuses on drawing, paper and fabric collage, overlaid with hand and machine stitch.

Other artists take a more traditional approach. Mary Heffernan, a recently retired school teacher, only discovered embroidery a few years ago, which opened the door into the delightful world of textile art. Colour, texture and stitch are her passions and she feels that simply messing around with fabric and yarn can often be the starting point of an idea. Words are another source of inspirations and she combines traditional hand stitch with more contemporary design and machine embroidery.

This love of traditional machine and hand embroidery techniques is shared by Lucinda Jacob, who invariably returns to textile pieces where the stitching and manipulation has been suggested by the material itself, such as old leather evening gloves, or, on the other hand, by simple graphic motifs. She combines the simplest hand and machine stitching with a layering of fabrics and simple figurative images such as birds and animals.

So whether drawing inspiration from the tactile nature of the fabrics, from nature, from personal experience or from more traditional work all the artists have one abiding theme - their love of textile and this love shines through in their work. The exhibition will be opened on Friday, February 5th, by Una Ni She, a textile artist from Dingle and will be a treat for all lovers of art and textiles.

The exhibition runs until February 26th, in the Samhlaiocht Gallery, which is located in the Old Presbytery on Lower Castle Street in the heart of Tralee. The Gallery is open from 10 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday, is free to visit and all are welcome.

An exhibition of artwork from three local artists will go on display in the Samhlaiocht Gallery on Thursday, 7th January, 2010 in the first exhibition of the New Year. The exhibition will feature work by Muiriosa Murphy, Ronan Smith and Silke Michels. All three artists are either Kerry-based or from Kerry originally. Their work was selected from the more than 50 artists who submitted work to Samhlaiocht, hoping for a spot in the Gallery's 2010 programme.

Muiriosa, who hails from Rathmore originally, but has lived in Kerry for years, is a born painter, sculptor and printmaker and finds inspiration in life but also in the tactile interaction with the materials she uses.

"Art is not just a job," says Muiriosa, "it is a life and a lifestyle. My life is about tuning in to my creative cycle, so I can be as prolific as possible. I also believe in following where my art takes me. Simply by doing and being open to the process; new methods, styles and ideas present themselves to me. When I am inspired, creating art is the most fulfilling and exciting experience. My mission is to explore, develop and push myself into new ways to express myself through art."

Ronan, who has a studio based practice in Gort, Co. Galway, but hails from Tralee agrees completely. and, over the last year, has developed an entirely new body of work. "It's my goal to make paintings that transcend their surface and in doing so become living things," he says. "I find that the most effective way for me to do this is by working with my own energy, the act of painting is my subject. I work with a sense of urgency, moving from canvas to canvas in quick succession. I focus on making the painting active and simple. I work towards creating shapes and colours that represent the reality within me."

Silke Michels is the third artist whose work features in the exhibition and it consists of digital photographic images of found objects, which she has documented over a period of two years. "I am intrigued by rustiness and decay of objects that have been placed in an 'unnatural' environment," says Silke. "Where do or where did these objects belong to in the first place? It's like discovering a different kind of beauty within an old rusty piece of material carelessly thrown away. What fascinates me about these objects is the way they have adapted to their new environment and become part of it. Nature's way of integration shows in color or shape, like seaweed growing out of an old shoe, or material that curves itself in the same way as the sand dunes it is draped in."

All three artists have strong Kerry connections. Muiriosa lives in Kerry and is also the curator and coordinator of the popular Reuben's Art Space on Ashe Street in Tralee. The Art Space organises monthly solo shows for artists. She graduated with a degree in Journalism in 2004 from Dublin City University and completed a postgraduate course in Fine Art in 2007 and has participated in a number of shows in Germany, Dublin, Cork and Kerry.

Ronan Smith, on the other hand, was born in Tralee and received a degree with distinction in Fine Art from Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art in 2004, continuing his art education with a post graduate MA in Visual Arts Practice from Dun Laoghaire in 2006. He has been involved in many group and solo exhibitions throughout his academic career.

Silke Michels is German but lives and works in Dingle. Her background is in Fine Art, Design, Textiles and Photography.

The three artists all have different backgrounds but all are, in one way or another, inspired by the beauty of Kerry.

An exhibition, styled after the famous 18th Century French exhibitions, Salon de Paris, and called the Salon de Chiarrai, is set to open in Tralee on Thursday, November 26th in the Samhlaiocht Gallery.

Local and national artists were invited to submit work for Salon de Chiarrai 2009, and the work came flooding in from all parts of the Kingdom. More than ninety pieces were submitted and will hang all over the walls in Samhlaiocht's intimate gallery which is located in The Old Presbytery on Lower Castle Street in the heart of Tralee.

"We were blown away with the number of entries for our Salon De Chiarrai show," said Jason O' Mahony, Artistic Director of Samhlaiocht. "We have received original paintings, drawings and etchings, large and small pieces and photography in a whole variety of styles."

The only conditions for submissions was that all work had to be ready for hanging, all work had to be for sale, and no work could have previously been exhibited at The Samhlaiocht Gallery.

"Kerry has always been known for its writers but looking at some of these pieces it's easy to imagine that in the future it'll be every bit as famous for its Artists," added O' Mahony.

The Samhlaiocht Gallery is at the forefront of bringing new and exciting artists to the public in Kerry and this show allows such artists an opportunity to have their work seen. The Salon show will, however, also feature work from many of the better known Kerry based artists as well as featuring some work from Artists making a name for them on a national scale.

The Salon de Chiarrai has a wonderfully eclectic feeling to it, featuring everything from stunning landscapes to sketches of colorful Kerry characters. The exhibition is definitely worth a trip for art lovers while affording a perfect opportunity to pick up a unique Christmas gift that will be treasured long after the holiday season passes.

The exhibition opens on November 26th in the Samhlaiocht Gallery, in the Old Presbytery, on Lower Castle Street, in the heart of Tralee and runs right through the Christmas period until 12 noon on December 23rd.

Opening times at the Gallery are from 9.00am to 5.00pm from Monday to Friday; the gallery is open to everyone and is free to visit.

Samhlaiocht is supported through grant aid from The Arts Council, Kerry County Council, Fáilte Ireland and generous corporate sponsorship from Kerry Group.

In the style of 18th Century French exhibitions, Samhlaiocht will unveil the Third annual Salon de Chiarraí exhibition late this November. No wall space will be left uncovered!

Artists from all over Kerry are invited to submit work for the second annual Salon de Chiarrai, which will take place from 26th November to 12 noon on the 23rd December 2009 at The Samhlaíocht Gallery in The Old Presbytery, Lower Castle Street Tralee.

"We were blown away with the number of entries for last year's Salon De Chiarrai show," said Jason O' Mahony, Director of Samhlaiocht. "We received original paintings, drawings, etchings and photography, large and small pieces in a whole variety of styles."

All original paintings, drawings etchings and photography, in any medium are welcome and there is no limitation on the scale of the work, however, submissions are limited to one or two per Artist. The only conditions for submission are that all work must be framed and ready for hanging, all work must be for sale, and work must not have previously been exhibited at The Samhlaíocht Gallery.

Last year over 80 pieces of art were selected from the submitted works and hung all over the walls in Samhlaiocht's intimate gallery on Lower Castle Street in the heart of Tralee.

"Kerry has always been known for its writers but last year the amount of work that was submitted suggests that in the future it'll be every bit as famous for its Artists!" added O' Mahony.

Work must be delivered to The Samhlaiocht Gallery during the week of the 9th of November.

The Salon De Chiarrai Exhibition opens on 26th November and runs right through the Christmas period until 12 noon December 23rd.

Last year's Salon had a wonderfully eclectic feeling to it, featuring everything from stunning landscapes to sketches of colourful Kerry characters such as John B. Keane and sales were brisk as the public picked up unique Christmas gifts that were treasured long after the holiday season passed.

All work must be clearly labelled with name and address and contact details.

For more information on the Samhlaiocht Salon de Chiarraí please contact Trish Thompson on 066 712 9934 or through email on trish@samhlaiocht.com

Samhlaiocht, the leading arts organisation in Kerry, was pretty as a picture this week as it opened its doors to a new exhibition featuring the work of over 30 photographers. The exhibition is the result of an open submission photography process that Samhlaiocht has undertaken for the past number of months. More than 250 photographs were submitted for the exhibition by photographers from all over Ireland and as far away as Alaska.

"The photography competition was a huge success," said Mike Foley, Samhlaiocht competition Co-ordinator. "The quality and variety of photographs was simply astonishing. We were absolutely delighted with the work submitted and pleasantly surprised that work came in from all over Ireland and abroad. This year we had two themes – Summer Light and Winter Light and photographers really took the themes to heart."

Given the amount of work submitted, selecting the pieces for the exhibition was no easy task and Samhlaiocht enlisted some of the leading photographers in Kerry to help with the process.

"This year we were blessed with the selecting panel and are thankful to all the selectors. They did an amazing job," added Mike

Selectors were Kerry Kennelly of Kerry's Eye, Dan Muphy, who is a fine art and portrait photographer with Red Couch Studios, Michael Diggin of Irish Landscape Photography and Michael O' Meara of Custom Framing Services.

Four photographs in particular were selected for their outstanding quality. The photographs were taken by Christina Tydings, Michael Gannon, Martin Mulcahy and Simon Quinn. Photographers submitting work were asked to keep the themes in mind but a liberal interpretation of the theme and digital manipulation of the images was encouraged.

When quizzed about the selection panel, Mike said, "Well we thought it was important to get an expert on all different styles of photography. Kerry is an obvious candidate to judge photo journalism, while Michael Diggin is a wonderful Landscape photographer, Dan Murphy, on the other hand, has an eye for fine art photography and Michael O' Meara is an all-rounder that prints his own landscapes and the work of other artists."

All selected photographs were professionally mounted and framed and are currently on view in the Samhlaiocht Gallery, in the Old Presbytery, in the heart of Tralee. The Framing Prize was kindly sponsored by O' Meara Fast Framing Service in Tralee Shopping Center. The exhibition opened on Thursday evening, October 1st and runs until until October 23rd, 2009.

Samhlaiocht, the leading Arts Organization in Kerry, continues its long tradition of bringing the very best and brightest national artists to the Kingdom with a wonderful new exhibition which opens on Thursday, September 3rd at 7:00 pm. The exhibition will feature work from Ian Wieczorek and Niall McCormack.

"There is a strong connection between Niall and Ian's work," says Trish Thompson, Gallery Coordinator, Samhlaiocht. "The diversity and vibrancy of their work quite literally leaps from the walls and we’re looking forward to what will be a very special exhibition."

The Samhlaíocht Gallery attracts the best and brightest up and coming artists from Kerry and beyond but also attracts more established artists looking for an additional outlet for their work and Ian and Niall fall very heavily into the second category. Both are accomplished artists and quite successful in their own right.

"My painting practice makes use of the visual language of architecture as a mediator for artistic vision, both as a universal truth and a metaphor for spirituality and personal mediation," said Niall McCormack, who is living and working as an artist in Westport, County Mayo. "I'm also interested in considerations of form and composition, colour harmonies and nuances of light and shade. They've become a vocabulary through which I can develop ideas and realise my intentions."

Niall's buildings and architectural environments depict and address ideals of ambience and spiritual presence. Exteriors and interiors are cleverly used and there is a wonderful interplay between them. Niall uses windows as focus points and to visually enhance the psychological content of the works.

"I am particularly interested in how people are influenced and affected by these architectural forms in both urban and rural environments," says Niall. "I was deeply affected by the monastic environment in which I found myself placed. It made a rich mystical impact on my life and, intermingled with the feelings of silence and austerity, was, at that time, integral to my identity and my particular way of seeing things."

Ian Wieczorek works to represent and investigate the physicality of the human condition. "My inquiry explores issues concerning the base fabric and material essence of what we are, offering insights into the human condition and how we relate to the world as individuals, society and species," says Ian. "On a theoretical level, the work is informed by George Bataille’s concept of Base Materialism, that Hegelian transcendence as a vertical axis denies the influence of a horizontal axis represented by our very physicality and Julia Kristeva’s theory of abjection, which acknowledges the acceptance of the physical condition as a vehicle of mediation."

Ian was born in England but has lived and worked in Castlebar, Co. Mayo, since 1992. His art practice is based primarily in painting and drawing, thematically exploring the physicality of the human condition, the confluence between biological and inorganic dynamic systems, and notions of context and essence.

The public will have an extra opportunity to interact with the artists as a special night-time showing of Niall and Ian’s work will take place at the Samhlaíocht Gallery on Friday, September 25th, when the Samhlaiocht Gallery will be open until 11pm as part of Culture Night Tralee.

The exhibition opens on Thursday, September 3rd, in the Samhlaiocht Gallery, in the Old Presbytery, on Lower Castle Street, in the heart of Tralee and runs right through until Friday, September 25th, Culture Night.

Opening times at the Gallery are from 9.00am to 5.00pm from Monday to Friday, with a special late night opening for culture night on the 25th September till 11pm at night.

The gallery is open to everyone and is free to visit.

Samhlaiocht is supported through grant aid from The Arts Council, Kerry County Council, Fáilte Ireland and generous corporate sponsorship from Kerry Group.

Next week sees the launch of Ireland's Heritage Week, which runs from the 22nd to the 30th of August, and to celebrate Samhlaiocht, the leading Arts Organisation in Kerry, is holding a special week-long exhibition featuring work from Christa Vonhof and Donal Stack.

Heritage week is designed to appeal to almost everyone and the main aim is to build awareness of Ireland's built, natural and cultural heritage thereby encouraging its conservation and preservation. In Ireland Heritage Week is co-ordinated by the Heritage Council with support from the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Fáilte Ireland.

"Every year hundreds of national and local community organisations take part in Heritage week, organising events throughout the country to help build awareness of Ireland's beautiful and unique cultural heritage," said Trish Thompson, Samhlaiocht Gallery Coordinator. "We're delighted to play a small part and would encourage people to come and see this wonderful exhibition which features work from Christa Vonhof and Donal Stack. The exhibition pays respect to Ireland’s amazing cultural heritage through Christa Vonhof's wonderfully eclectic letter boxes and Donal Stack's pictorial maps."

Donal Stack is an artist that lives and works in North Kerry. After graduating from the Crawford Municipal College of Art, Donal went on to teach art at secondary level and at adult night classes for a period of five years.

"I've always had an interest in illustration and decided to pursue if for this exhibition," said Donal. "The work is a series of limited edition giclee prints of illustrated pictorial maps."

The maps are simply stunning and the level of work involved in creating them is mind-boggling. As Donal explains, "These maps are influenced by 16th and 17th Century pictorial maps showing the topography of the landscape and include text, icons and depictions of towns and other landmarks."

All the maps are pictorial maps of Kerry and the Giclee process which Donal used ensures a high quality reproduction on fine art acid-free paper. The original work was done in watercolour and each print is signed and numbered by the artist.

While Donal's maps are inspired by Kerry, Christa Vonhof, who grew up in Bavaria, has been similarily inspired by the county. She always loved painting and drawing.

"Art classes were always my favourite in school," says Christa, "and I continued to paint through my early adulthood." After raising her family and moving to Ireland, Christa became a member of an art group in which she is still active and exhibits regularly.

In addition to painting, Christa is interested in local history and archaeology and quite often combines these two interests.

"One day I was walking in the countryside and I saw this quaint box hanging off a telegraph pole. It was in the middle of nowhere and it sparked an interest," explains Christa. "Every now and then I would come across another post box and the most amazing array of different letter boxes appeared with different shapes, sizes and patterns and I decided to capture and record them."

"The work on the exhibit is by no means a complete collection," laughs Christa, "I fully expect to find many more to record. My hope is to continue finding and recording them in my drawings for years to come!"

The exhibition in Samhlaiocht is a perfect opportunity to see something a little different.

The exhibition opens on Thursday, August 20th and runs for one week until Friday, August 28th in the New Samhlaiocht Gallery which is located in the Old Presbytery on Lower Castle Street in the heart of Tralee. The Gallery is open from 10 am to 5 pm, Monday to Friday, is free to visit and all are welcome.

Samhlaiocht is supported through grant aid from The Arts Council, Kerry County Council, Failte Ireland and by the generous corporate sponsorship of Kerry Group.