Moving Images
Niamh O'Malley's most recent work comprises video projections onto painted canvases. Short, silent films loop continually, presenting small observed scenarios interrupted or transformed through the painted surface on which they appear. 'A situation, a situation and a story' is the title of her current solo show at Temple Bar Gallery in Dublin. Here she presents three new works: Curio shop (projection on painted perspex), After Bellacorrick (slide projection on painted canvas) and Butterfly (hddvd oil on canvas). The moment of revelation is central to O'Malley's work and each moving image sequence is briefly suspended so that the painted canvas can be viewed. Niamh O'Malley: until 5 April
 
Symbolism at the Russell Gallery
The mysterious world of iconology and the study of symbolism will be explored at an intriguing exhibition in the Russell Gallery. 'Icon - A Veritable Exhibition of the Eclectic' features works by a plethora of artists celebrating imagery since the dawn of time. From cave art through Mary Mother of Jesus to David Beckham, the images skip impertinently from the revered to the outright frivolous. From gold leaf to plastic, the exhibition will engage and focus attention like few others. Icons: 21 March – 20 April
 
The Kerry Connection
Works by acclaimed British artist William Stanley Hayter CBE (1901-1988) can be seen at the Solomon Gallery in March. Hayter is the acknowledged father of contemporary printmaking and his experimental 'Atelier 17' in New York /Paris (where he worked with Picasso, Chagall, Pollock, Matta, Miro, Rothko and Giacometti) has been considered the most influential print studio in the world. His works have featured in many international galleries. What many people don't know, however, is that Hayter had a house in Kerry, was close friends with Louis le Brocquy and Samuel Beckett, and produced some of his best work while living here in Ireland. In 1972, Hayter produced a series of etchings to illustrate Beckett's text for a project called 'Still'. This exhibition focuses on the Kerry-inspired oils, drawings, waterolours and prints, including a series on the Fastnet Yacht Race in 1985. Stanley William Hayter: 3 – 20 March
 
Double Take
A retrospective of the photographic work of the American-born artists David McDermott and Peter McGough is currently on show at IMMA. 'An Experience of Amusing Chemistry: Photographs 1990–1890' comprises some 120 works created using a wide range of historic photographic techniques, including the use of palladium, gum, salt and cyanotype prints. The duo met when they were both part of the famous East Village New York art scene of the 1980. In a revolt against the confines of chronological time, they built their practice through appropriating imagery and objects from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They have thus assiduously reconstructed their lives as Victorian gentlemen (complete with knee britches, top hats and tail coats). Their oeuvre is fuelled by a self-imposed time travel, subverting the obvious by incorporating homoerotic and art historical references. Some 50 works spanning the entire career of highly-regarded Irish artist Cecil King (1921–1986) can also be viewed at IMMA this spring - see our feature on page 88 of this edition. The exhibition concentrates on the 'hard edge' paintings for which the artist is especially well known. McDermott & McGough: until 27 April; Cecil King: 27 February – 18 May
 
ART IRELAND Spring Collection
Now in its fourth year, the Art Ireland Spring Collection at the RDS Dublin will feature more than 80 exhibitors. Participating galleries include Gormley's Fine Art and the Arkhangel Gallery. Magil Fine Art will exhibit new work from Russian artists Alexander Utkin and Galina Reshotka. Also featured are more than 70 independent artists including Debbie Chapman, Honor Hales, Padraig McCaul, Willie Redmond and Karen Wilson. International exhibitors include the Tallantyre Gallery (UK), Villaneuva Arts (Spain), Palacio De las Artes (Argentina), Taras Loboda (Ukraine), and Stephanie Malossane (France). Art Ireland: 28 – 30 March
 
Off the Beaten Track
Peter McCabe's first exhibition in Ireland, 'Off the beaten track', is a documentary on the beauty of Ireland. His photographs depict the image that Ireland is famed for around the world: one of beauty and tranquillity, where the elements are allowed to batter away at the landscape, forming and transforming it. The exhibition can be seen this spring at Man-made Images photo gallery in Mountcharles, Co Donegal. Peter McCabe: 28 March – end June
 
Yeats at the National Library and Gallery
The legion of Jack B Yeats fans have a special treat in store. To accommodate the Niland's redevelopment programme, the National Gallery of Ireland is presenting an exhibition of works from the outstanding collection of Yeats paintings in the Model Arts and Niland Gallery, Sligo. The exhibition will feature 11 paintings by Jack B Yeats including two early masterpieces in oil depicting scenes of the Civil War: The Funeral of Harry Boland (1923), and Communicating with Prisoners (c.1924). Later works such as Leaving the Far Point (1946), which the artist presented to Sligo Corporation shortly before his death will also be on view. Meantime, the award-winning collection of manuscripts of poet William Butler Yeats continues at the National Library of Ireland nearby. Covering many aspects of Yeats' life and his development as a writer, this outstanding exhibition gives visitors an insight into Irish social, cultural and political life from the late 1800s to the 1930s. Jack B Yeats, National Gallery: 8 March – 30 November; W B Yeats, National Library: ongoing
 

Venice at Farmleigh
The OPW will host Ireland's critically acclaimed 2007 Venice Biennale exhibition in Dublin when Venice at Farmleigh opens at the Farmleigh Gallery on 5 March. Film installations by Dublin artist Gerard Byrne who represented Ireland and Turner-nominated Derry artist Willie Doherty who represented Northern Ireland will be shown together for the first time in Ireland, mirroring their first ever colocation in Venice. This exhibition offers the public its first opportunity to appreciate how Ireland was represented at the 52nd Venice Biennale. Venice at Farmleigh: 6 March – 4 May
 
Beyond the Pale
A new exhibition at the National Photographic Archive in Dublin this spring offers a tantalising glimpse of provincial life from 1850–1980. Taken from the Lawrence Collection, the exhibition will feature approximately 75 photographs from Kilkenny, Waterford, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Derry and Belfast. 'Strangers to Citizens: the Irish in Europe 1600–1800' runs throughout the year at the National Library of Ireland. It focuses on Irish migration to continental Europe from 1600–1800 and the considerable achievements of the Irish in Spain, France, Flanders and elsewhere. Highlights include an account of the perilous sea journey faced by Irish migrants to Europe documented in Tadhg î Cian‡in's narrative of the journey into exile of the Ulster Earls 1607-08 and some of the earliest books in the Irish language ever printed. In addition, visitors can use digital installations to explore each exhibition topic and to discover whether any one of their name or from their own area served in the French and Spanish armies in the 18th century or studied at the Irish colleges in Paris, Leuven or Toulouse. Beyond The Pale, National Photographic Archive: until 31 May; Irish in Europe, National Library: throughout 2008
 
OPEN / INVITED e v+ a 2008
'Too Early for Vacation' is the theme of OPEN / INVITED e v+ a 2008, selected by curator, Hou Hanru Hanru, a Chinese curator and critic, Director of Exhibitions and Public Programs at San Francisco Art Institute and curator of the 10th Istanbul Biennial. Here 'vacation' has a double implication: holidays and vacating (escaping) from reality. Seventeen artists will feature in the invited section and 26 artists have been selected in the open category, of which eighteen are Irish. Photography dominates in this year's choice of artists. Limerick-born Dara McGrath, winner of the AIB Prize in 2003, will exhibit work entitled 'Peripheries', a meditation through photography of architecture and its impact on the landscape. Fiona Hackett will present 'Extraterritorial', a series of eleven photographs of depopulated interiors, the reception spaces of embassies she received permission to photograph. Our feature on OPEN / INVITED e v+ a 2008 begins on page 62 of this edition. OPEN / INVITED e v+ a 2008: 8 March – 25 May
 
Unique Act
Selected works by Sean Scully, Carmengloria Morales, Ruth Root, Se‡n Shanahan and Frederic Thursz will take centre stage at Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane. The exhibition entitled 'Unique Act' celebrates the Sean Scully collection, presented by the artist in 2006. The participating artists engage in a dialogue on abstraction, opening up new possibilities that challenge the theoretical impasse set up by American art critic Clement Greenberg. Scully et al: 11 March – 25 May
 
Liam O'Neill from Paris to Dingle
Following on from an exhibition of figurative work and large-scale portraits of Irish writers by Liam O'Neill at the Greenlane Gallery in Paris this spring, the second stage of his two-part exhibition will open at the Greenlane in Dingle, Co Kerry from 8–20 March. Bolder in terms of expression and scope, these large scale oils of Corca Dhuibhne (West Kerry) see an artist painting with a new sense of freedom and vision. Liam O'Neill 8 – 20 March
 
The Plinian Sponge, Maybe?
As part of the RHA's touring exhibition programme while closed for redevelopment, Ashford gallery co-ordinator Mark St. John Ellis has curated an exhibition of contemporary painting that will tour four venues in 2008. Entitled 'The Plinian Sponge, maybe?' the exhibition reflects the eclecticism of contemporary painting in Ireland. Sixteen artists will participate: Anne Hendrick, Ann Quinn, Cara Thorpe, Claire Kerr, Colin Martin, Eoin O'Connor, Graham Chorlton, Graham Crowley, John Beattie, Jonathan Hunter, Kate Warner, Laura Brennan, Leda Scully, Phillipa Sutherland, Ross McDonnell and Thomas Brezing. The old Academic perception of painting as an arduous and lengthy process versus the spontaneity of the modern painting movement is explored. 'The painting is dead' debate has raged from the discovery of the first camera obscura. This exhibition illustrates that today's painters use techniques that reference the whole history of painting,' says St. John Ellis. The Plinian Sponge, maybe?: Johnston Central Library, Cavan, until 3 March; Ballina Arts Centre, 2 April – 3 May: Roscommon Arts Centre, 10 May – 28 June; West Cork Arts Centre 1 – 30 August
 
20 years at Graphic Studio Gallery
Following on from its successful twenty | twenty exhibition, featuring the work of some of the artists whose work featured in the Graphic Studio Gallery's opening show in Cope Street, Temple Bar in November 1988 (Louis le Brocquy, Patrick Collins, Anne Madden, and Brian Bourke among them), the 20th anniversary celebrations continue into the spring with an exhibition of a suite of new corborundum prints by Carmel Benson, a solo exhibition by Cliona Doyle featuring exotic trees and plants based on a walled monastery garden in Italy, and new work portraying the human figure from Maev Lenaghan and Yoko Akino. Carmel Benson:
6 – 29 March; Cliona Doyle: 3 – 26 April; Maev Lenaghan and Yoko Akino: 8–31 May
 
Thaddeus unveiled at the Gorry Gallery
The Gorry Gallery in Dublin will present a remarkable painting this month. Harry Jones Thaddeus' Portrait of his Holiness Pope Leo XIII (1886) has recently been rediscovered and will be unveiled in Ireland for the first time. Apparently Thaddeus was serenaded on the piano by Franz Liszt as he painted the portrait! Also on view at the Gorry Gallery, an exhibition of 18th–20th century Irish paintings will include work from Robert Carver, James Arthur O'Connor, Edwin Hayes, and George Barret's An Irish Landscape Inspired by the Dargle Valley. Inspired by the scenery of Co Wicklow, Barret's paintings from his time in Ireland in the early 1760s are among the finest of his career. 18th–20th century Irish Paintings: 6 – 20 March
 
Charles Harper Selects
This selected group show may well be titled the 'Limerick' artists show, as all of the artists were either born, have lived or live in Limerick city and county. Artists include Charles Harper RHA, Jim Savage, John Shinnors, Sarah O'Flaherty, Jack Donovan, Tom Fitzgerald, Co’l’n Murray, Martin Finnin, Donald Teskey RHA, Gavin Hogg, Mike Fitzharris. A common thread would be the Limerick School of Art & Design, where Harper has headed the department of Fine Art. These artists are closely linked, all friends with Harper, and all respected by him. This exhibition will be the McBride Gallery's first invited artists selected show. In association with the Killarney Chamber of Commerce, the McBride Gallery will host a lecture entitled 'Art as Investment', by Dr Clare McAndrew, author of The Art Economy, at the Aghadoe Heights Hotel on 27 March. Charlie Harper Selects: 14 March - 15 April

IAR Spring Diary compiled by Con Power