Viewing Recommended
Our lives, our surroundings, where we live, the routes and routines of everyday life, our relationship with home; this is the material that Dorothy Smith draws upon for her new body of work. 'Viewing Recommended' is Smith's third exhibition at the Hallward Gallery in Dublin. Night lights, curtained windows, lit hallways,and building sites are part and parcel of Smith's daily journeys as she walks through the city. Her daily route leads her to consider how peoples lives are framed by the route and routines they follow daily. Smith is a regular exhibitor at the RHA and a previous winner of the Taylor Bequest Award for Best Emerging Artist. Her work is featured in Collections at the New York Public Library Print Collection, University College Dublin, UniCredito Italiano, IFSC, The Ark Cultural Centre for Children, Dublin, the Royal Hospital Donnybrook Dublin and the Irish Contemporary Arts Society. Viewing Recommended: 10 – 26 April
 
Tom Climents at the Hunt
'Between Chance and Rhyme' is the title of an exhibition of new paintings by Tom Climents at the Hunt Museum in Limerick in April. Usually known as a painter of large format works, Climents has also been working on a much smaller scale in recent times. Known for his bold use of paint and brooding dramatic colour, he can conjure up a sense of interior space or landscape, both urban and rural .While there is a lyrical, romantic quality to some of his newer works, the sense of interaction, drama and narrative that characterised his earlier work still persists. Tom Climents: 3 – 24 April
 
Out on their Own
'A Life of their Own' will transform Lismore Castle Art Gallery in April. The show brings together nine young talents from England, Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland. The title of the show reflects the ability of art to catch viewers off-balance, challenging us with powerful and unpredictable experiences. Far from belonging to a unified new movement, each of the selected artists has a distinct approach. For instance, Roger Hiorns works inventively with resources as diverse as steel, thistles, ceramic, BMW engines, wood, photograph and foam, while Kate Terry uses threads. Also showing are Matt Calderwood. Kate Atkin, Conrad Shawcross and Eva Rotschild. Also well worth checking out are Rosalind Nashashibi and Lucy Skaer, who invaded New York's Metropolitan Museum at night and, with the aid of a flashing strobic light, made even the oldest carvings on display there look caught unawares. Life of their Own: 26 April – 30 September
 
Corporate selection at IMMA
'10,000 to 50: Contemporary Art from the Members of BusinesstoArt' reflects the support of the Irish private and public sector for contemporary visual art over two decades. It includes examples of Irish-based visual art practice, as well as documenting the commissioning of artworks and ongoing corporate support at community, national and international levels. Over 10,000 artworks were considered from which a final selection of some 50 was made. The selection for the show at IMMA to mark the 20th anniversary of Business2Art includes works by Gerard Byrne, Declan Clarke, Maud Cotter, Gary Coyle, Dorothy Cross and others. The exhibition includes a specially commissioned new photographic work by Irish artist Ronan McCrea. 10,000 to 50: 30 April – 4 August
 
Master of the Horse
The first Irish exhibition by equestrian sculptor Nic Fiddian-Green will see 16 pieces made from bronze and beaten lead installed at Newman House on St Stephen's Green, Dublin. Fiddian-Green is well known for major site-specific
commissions, including the massive Horse's Head in the Wind for Treasury Holdings in Barrow Street, Dublin. The scale of the larger pieces and the rough hewn finish of the textured metal will look even more impressive against the Georgian Dublin backdrop. Nic Fiddian Green: 10 – 17 April
 
Hands across the Border
Rita Duffy, President of the Royal Ulster Academy (one of the youngest artists to hold this office), will exhibit at Gormleys Fine Art in Dublin shortly. Context, authenticity and draftsmanship are fundamental to Duffy's work. Her work is a response to both personal and shared experiences arising from the socio-political situation in Northern Ireland. Much of her output is autobiographical, addressing her experience growing up Catholic and female in the North. Duffy's works include Blood Drawings, commissioned in 2002 for O'Connell Street, comprising a series of huge head-portraits of her relatives. Rita Duffy: 3 – 17 April
 
Irish Art Sales
Expectations are high for the spring auction season, as buyers seek investment alternatives to the equity and property markets. James Adam's Important Irish Art Sale will take place on 2 April. Highlights include a private collection of Martin Mooney paintings, mainly from the 1990s, as well as an important seascape by Edwin Hayes, estimated to fetch between €25,000–€30,000. A large oil painting by Hughie O'Donoghue, titled Fires I, 1990 and estimated at €20,000–€30,000, is set to attract contemporary art buyers, together with Patrick Collins' Blue Jug from the 1960s, estimate €25,000–€30,000. From the 18th century, a rare set of four flower pieces by Gustavus Hamilton, dating to 1757, will be offered at €20,000–€30,000. De Veres Irish Art Auction is scheduled for 7 Aprll at the D4 Hotel in Ballsbridge, Dublin, with viewings on 5–7 April. Works already consigned for the Sotheby's annual Irish sale on 7 May in London include Yeats' Waiting for the Long Car (£100,000-150,000) and Osborne's A Tale of the Sea (£300,000–£500,000). A preview of highlights will be on view in Ireland prior to the sale at Lismore Castle Arts (12–13 April), Waterfront Hall, Belfast (16–19 April), and Sotheby's in Dublin (22–26 April). Whyte's Spring auction takes place on 28 April at the RDS in Dublin. Of particular note is a selection of Letitia Marion Hamilton oils, originally from the family collection. Featuring over 180 works by Irish masters such as Paul Henry, Louis le Brocquy, Gerard Dillon, Daniel O'Neill, George Russell and Jack B Yeats, it should be an interesting sale. Christie's Irish Art sale will be held on 8 May at the South Kensington rooms James Adam: 2 April; DeVeres: 7 April; Whyte's: 28 April; Sotheby's: 7 May; Christie's: 8 May
 
Shawcross and O'Casey at Peppercanister
Neil Shawcross will present his fourth solo exhibition at the Peppercanister Gallery in April. Shawcross' practise is dominated by portraiture and still life, and this exhibition will feature recent examples of both oeuvres. Recent workings of this subject matter have been grid-based with fluent images of teacups and saucers, often collaged and in relief, against backgrounds of green, yellow and red brushwork. Breon O'Casey follows at the Peppercanister in May, with his fifth solo exhibition. The show will be formally opened on 30 April, to mark the occasion of the artist's 80th birthday and will feature recent bronzes and paintings. An artist of many talents, Breon is respected as a painter, sculptor, printmaker, jeweller and weaver. However, he has been concentrating predominantly on painting and sculpture for the last number of years. His observations of the natural surroundings form the basis of his art, featuring birds, animals, farmyard fowl, leaves, trees and fruits. His paintings have an immediate impact combining simplicity of line and form with vibrant colour. His highly personal vision is also apparent in his sculptures, where he promotes the expressive power of the simplified shape. Neil Shawcross: April; Breon O'Casey: 30 April – 21 May
 
The West's Awake
'Young Galway Artists 2 (Y.G.A.2)' follows up on last year's show at Norman Villa Gallery. A select number of young artists based in Galway are again being given an opportunity to exhibit and be involved in all stages of the artistic process from original concept forward - hopefully helping them push ahead in their careers. The chosen artists this year are John Brady, Maeve Curtis and Angela O'Brien. Young Artists: 10–26 April
 
Romantic Stitches and Realist Sketches
An unusual exhibition of knitwear and drawings will open at the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life, Turlough Park, in Co Mayo in April. The exhibition will show a range of early 20th century Aran knitwear and a series of drawings by Se‡n Keating RHA that were used to illustrate an early marketing brochure developed by businessman P‡draig î S’och‡in in the 1960s & 1970s to promote Aran knitwear worldwide. The exhibition focuses on the unique marketing story of the Aran knitwear as well as highlighting some of the traditions associated with the stitches. The main players were the knitters themselves, almost exclusively women, who lived not just on the Aran Islands, but in many other places especially along the west coast. The late Muriel Gahan,who ran the Country Shop on St Stephens Green, Dublin from the early 1930s to the late 1970s, and businessman, P‡draig î S’och‡in were key to the development and promotion of Aran knitwear in Europe and the US. Meanwhile, at the National Museum - Archaeology on Kildare Street, Dublin, 'Life and Death in the Roman World' features objects that have been in storage in the National Museum since the early 1920s. The collection includes glass vessels, ceramics, coins, and architectural fragments from places as diverse as Egypt and Austria. Romantic Stitches and Realist Sketches: from April; Life and Death in the Roman World: ongoing
 
Group show in Cavan
New paintings by Arthur Maderson, Norman Teeling and Jimmy Lawlor will feature at Sol Art Gallery in Cavan town. Norman Teeling graduated from the National College of Art and Design in the early 1960s and worked as a cartoonist at the Irish Press and as a set designer at the Gate and Tivoli theatres. His series of ten oil paintings depicting the events of the Easter Rising is on permanent exhibition at the GPO in Dublin. Originally working in illustration, Jimmy Lawlor has focused on painting since the late 1990s and has since exhibited extensively around Ireland. Arthur Maderson has exhibited at the Royal Academy, The Royal West of England Academy and the RHA in Dublin. A strong advocate of figurative painting, what distinguishes Arthur's work from others is his commitment to the richness and complexity of the visual world. Arthur Maderson, Norman Teeling and Jimmy Lawlor: 17–26 April
 
Vive La France
'The French Extension' at Jorgensen Fine Art is an extension of 'A Century of Women Artists' held in 2007. The latter exhibition highlighted the importance of France in the training received by those women who travelled to Paris in order to receive an education in art. The first of these was Sarah Purser who studied at the AcadŽmie Julian in 1878 and was very much at the centre of things. In her wake a whole flotilla of women artists set sail for Paris, where many of them studied at the atelier of AndrŽ Lh™te. This was, however, actually the second wave of Irish artists to visit France with a view to furthering their education. Nathaniel Hone, for instance, went to Paris in 1853 to copy at the Louvre and to attend the atelier of historical painter Thomas Couture. He remained in France for seventeen years, living and painting in Fontainebleau and Barbizon. This latest exhibition is designed to address such influences. French Connection: April.
 
From the Hearth
Now based near Kinvara, Tyrone-born Jim McKee's new work for 'From the Hearth' at the Kenny Gallery in Galway takes its inspiration from his surroundings. Created using a palette knife, these are vibrant oil paintings of the Gort Plains, the Flaggy Shore near Newquay, the Claddagh Basin, and other local landscapes. Also at the Kenny Gallery, works by sculptors and foundrymen Leo Higgins and Colm Brennan will be on view in early summer. The work will be mostly in bronze and will range in scale from public size sculpture to domestic pieces. Brennan, a native of Ballina, has been involved in sculpture since the mid 1970s, and in 1987 he co-established CAST in Dublin. Dublin-born Higgins is a founder member of the Sculpture Society of Ireland and lectures part-time at the National College of Art and Design. Jim McKee: 4–24 April; Higgins/Brennan: 16 May – 5 June