Oh Henry on View
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Paul Henry (1875-1958) is in a class of his own. Much copied and often underestimated, he remains one of the icons of Irish art. The largest ever exhibition of the renowned landscape painter's work will be one of the highlights of this year's National Gallery Millennium Wing programme. This will comprise over 100 oils and works on paper—many on public view for the first time. Gallery director Raymond Keaveney says these works have been drawn from its own collection as well as public/private collections in Ireland, the UK, Europe and the US. ‘Paul Henry was to Irish landscape painting what WB Yeats was for the Celtic Revival in the shaping of Irish culture and this exhibition provides a new generation with a retrospective of his work.' Paul Henry February–May 18
 
EV+A 2003
Acclaimed around the world but—as is often the case—not fully appreciated in Ireland, EV+A (Exhibition of Visual Plus Art) returns to Limerick for the 27th year this March. Although based at the Limerick City Gallery of Art, EV+A is a city-wide phenomenon, with 34 Irish artists and 22 international artists exhibiting their work at venues around Limerick and, in the case of Des Farrell's work For the Lovers, on the River Shannon. Costa Rican adjudicator Virginia Perez-Ratton sifted through more than 400 submissions for the open competition and has chosen work that deals with wide-ranging issues from global politics to mystical, superstition and religious pieces to be shown in St Mary's Cathedral.
EV+A: 8 March–1 June
 
Time Marches On
Hats off to all concerned for the fine achievement of converting the former Collins Barracks for use by the National Museum of Ireland. The National Museum of Decorative Arts & History at Collins Barracks was fittingly granted the premier award for conservation from the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland last November. Collins (formerly the Royal) Barracks lays claim to being the first purpose-designed military barracks in Europe. It was, furthermore, the oldest to remain in continuous occupation until evacuated by the army to make way for the new museum A lecture series focusing on aspects of the history of Collins Barracks promises to provide fascinating insights into its colourful past from the 18th century to the present day. An eminent list of speakers will participate including Professor Thomas Bartlett, Department of History, UCD, Patrick Cooney, Office of Public Works, and Tony Kinsella, Dublin Institute of Technology.
Evening lectures at Collins Barracks until 11 March
 
Felim Egan Comes Home
Internationally acclaimed UNESCO prizewinner Felim Egan is returning to his home ground for his first ever solo exhibition in Donegal at Cavanacor Gallery. This is an especially welcome homecoming as the artist now exhibits all over the world in venues such as the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, and Rosenberg and Kaufman, New York. For the Donegal show, Felim will be exhibiting an extensive selection of semi-abstract paintings on canvas and paper. These sensitive works merge colour with linear elements and geometric shapes inspired by the intricacies and movement of both contemporary and classical music.
Felim Egan: 22 March–10 May
 
Dillon Retrospective
The Droichead Arts Centre in Drogheda is currently paying tribute to one of Ireland's most creative artists, Gerard Dillon. The show subsequently moves to The Linen Hall Library and the Art Tank Gallery in Belfast. Born in Lower Clonard St off the Falls Road in Belfast, Gerard was the youngest of eight children. In 1934 he obtained a job decorating to support himself as an artist by night. At the end of World War II, he returned to his native country where he discovered an equivalent to the dream country of his imagination in the people and landscapes of Connemara/Aran Islands. The experience influenced his artistic output from then on. He travelled back to London in 1945 where he remained for the next twenty years. During this time, the celebrated artist regularly exhibited in Dublin and figured in several international exhibitions around the world. While on a visit to Dublin, he suffered a stroke and died later that year at the Adelaide Hospital. The Droichead's retrospective exhibition brings together a large selection of the artist's work for only the second time in over thirty years (the Ulster Museum in partnership with the Hugh Lane Gallery staged a major show the year after his death).
Gerard Dillon: until 20 February in Drogheda; until 21 March in Belfast
 
Spanish Honour for George Campbell
Still Life with old Pump, Palo— a painting featured in the George Campbell exhibition at Jorgensen Fine Art—takes on an added significance in the light of the recent decision by the people of Malaga to honour the Irish artist by naming a street after him. The village of
el Palo was long his summer home and inspiration. The artist's long attachment to Spain was formally recognised by the Spanish Government in 1978 when he was made a Commander with the Insignia and Privileges of the Order of the Merito Civile—the equivalent of a knighthood. Further evidence of his devotion to the country was the establishment in 1980 (the year following his death) of the George Campbell Travel Award by the Spanish Cultural Institute in Dublin and the Arts Councils of the Republic and Northern Ireland. The Jorgensen show illustrates the Hispano-Hibernian symbiosis always evident in this celebrated artist's work.
George Campbell: from 11 March.
 
Filming Wordsong
The Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin is hosting an exhibition of work by Irish artist Laura Gannon in the coming weeks. As part of the gallery's commitment to providing a platform for Irish contemporary practice, Laura will present her first museum exhibition Wordsong—four projected 16mm films. The exhibition is a revealing examination of personal intimate relationships and an exploration of the use of language. Integral to the experience is the use of sound composed specifically for the work by Ronan Coleman. In creating a full soundscape using the human voice alongside the visual concepts, the aim is ‘to explore the universal condition of existing through complete immersion of the viewer.' A graduate of the University of Ulster, Gannon completed ‘Underswim,' a dramatic short film commissioned by Sligo County Council in 1999. She was one of 23 artists selected for East International UK in July 2001 and is currently completing a Masters in Fine Art at Goldsmith's College.
Laura Gannon: 5–28 May
 
Provocation at IMMA
IMMA showcases the first solo exhibition in this country of Lorna Simpson, considered one of the principal representatives of black American visual culture. This New York born artist is known for her provocative photographic works addressing racial and sexual identity, notions of the body, interpersonal communication and relationships.
Lorna Simpson: 27 February–8 June
 
Pleasant Places
David King has taken ‘Pleasant Places'—a series of prints made in the Netherlands around the 16th Century—as his starting point for his first major solo show in the Hallward Gallery, Merrion Square, Dublin. The prints are very traditional images from the early days of landscape realism. David takes his cue from them by deftly playing between authentic representation of the original image and the tangible, tactile qualities of the painted surface. He was awarded the Hennessy Craig Scholarship, the inaugural prize for young artists up to 35 years, at the RHA Annual Exhibition (see Irish Arts Review, Autumn 2002), and intends to use the prize to study and travel on the continent in the year ahead. David King: 16 March–3 April
 
Alternative Alchemist
Aidan McDermott is a painter of versatility and inventiveness. He fabricates miniature fictional pieces, which he lights dramatically and photographs. Exaggerating anomalies and distortions both in the model and photograph, this process enables him to generate imagery conceptually and technically challenging his practise as a painter. For ‘In the Garden' at the Rubicon Gallery on Dublin's Stephens Green, McDermott creates maquettes amalgamating miniature mythological characters with objects of contemporary kitsch, fairy tale figures with psychedelic gardens of giant plastic flowers and eerily lit scenarios where fantasy is made flesh.
Aidan McDermott: 18 March–12 April
 
Study for Swallow Room
A Dylan Thomas poem, peeping through a crack in childhood memory, an abandoned attic of thronged swallows—John Shinnors draws these diverse threads together for his new show ‘Study for Swallow Room' in the Vangard Gallery, Cork. The artist relates his experience in a ruined room aflight with trapped swallows in a major new triptych study (the centrepiece of the forthcoming show). Eleven small box-framed linen canvases, lyrical painterly interpretations of drawings, which will hang simultaneously at The Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, complete the composition.
John Shinnors: 13 February – first week in March
 
Bank on this Artist
‘You Have Exceeded Your Limit!' is the arresting title of the next exhibition by Kevin Sharkey at the Bank of Ireland Arts Centre, Foster Place, Dublin in March. This artist's star has risen apace and the price tag on his works has increased steadily over the last few years with collectors and dealers to the fore. The list of collectors of his work reads like a veritable Who's Who of the rich, famous and influential—including names like Charles Saatchi, Bob Geldof, Sinead O'Connor, Sir Ned Sherrin, and others. Kevin Sharkey: Bank of Ireland Arts Centre, 24 February – 14 March. Art Ireland (Summer Exhibition), RDS, 9–11 May
 
Snapshots in Sligo
Two new exhibitions open at the Model Arts and Niland Gallery in Sligo. An exhibition of photography will feature the work of Dara McGrath, Mary McIntyre, Liam O'Callaghan and Jim Vaughan. A separate show will feature drawings by Mark Clare. Border areas where urban and rural intersect will provide common ground at the McGrath/McIntyre exhibitions, while O'Callaghan focuses on images referencing microscopic life and abstract art. The latter artist recently collaborated on a book documenting the holy wells of Ireland. Vaughan will show images from his series ‘Local News', concentrating on everyday images in a highly personal mode. His exhibition comprises works on paper, concisely elegant drawings offering myriad interpretations.
Photography/ Mark Clare from March 7.
 
Painting and Sketching Club
One of the largest group art exhibitions is being staged in early spring. The 125th annual Dublin Painting & Sketching Club will be on view for two weeks in Dun Laoghaire County Hall. With over 170 exhibits, the exhibition offers a variety of styles and subjects running the full painting gamut. Over 60 contemporary artists from all over Ireland, members of the club and some invited artists, will be exhibiting. Founded in 1874 as a sketching club ‘on the plan of the London Artists clubs', the club's membership currently includes several well-known contemporary artists including James English, Des Hickey, Padraig Lynch and Tom Ryan. Dublin Painting & Sketching Club: 31 March – 13 April