Summer Fare at the Galleries
'Summer Printfest' at the Graphic Studio (19 June – 9 August) is one of the highlights of the Imprint Festival, incorporating 'Revelation' at the National Gallery, solo exhibitions and 'Artist's Proof' at Chester Beatty Library (January 2009). Leinster Gallery stages a summer painting and sculpture show (19 June – 17 July) involving Graham Knuttel, Markey Robinson, Cynthia Moran, and others. This summer's Jorgensen Fine Art exhibition has a light and lyrical quality. Mary Swanzy's Girl with a Lute is painted in her later chinoiserie style, a world away from her monumental anti-war pieces; Louis le Brocquy's Children in a Wood evokes the poetical, as does Barrie Cooke's Trout Stream. The Peppercanister summer exhibition (July – August) features Mary Swanzy, Liam Belton, Neil Shawcross and Brian Ballard to name but a few. The Lemonstreet Gallery summer exhibition (16 August – 5 September) includes a selection of prints by Stephen Vaughan, Colin Martin, Bea Mc Mahon and others. In Belfast, a group exhibition at the Nicholas Gallery (June – August) includes works by Christine Cheim, Eamon Colman, Emma Berkery and Jesus Orozco. Equine specialist Leo Casement will be the featured artist at Gormley's summer show (from 26 July). The exhibition will also include work by Tony Lynch, Philip Childs and Ross Wilson. Cork Arts Society's annual exhibition at the Lavit Gallery, 'CASe 08' (10–21 June), feaures Pauline Bewick, Tom Climent, John Coyle, Margaret Egan, and others. For 'Made in Cork' (8 - 19 July), also at the Lavit, artists have been invited to submit works inspired by the city and its environs. Heading west, an eclectic line-up at Stronach Gallery in Connemara looks promising. Padraig MacMiadhcain, Declan O'Connor, Rosemary Carr and Jemima Maxwell feature, alongside three Ukrainian artists who are in residence at the gallery through the summer. The Purple Onion Gallery in Co Roscommon presents Robert Harcus, associate of the Society of Equestrian Artists in London and the first Irish artist to be made an associate of the American Academy of Equine Art in Lexington, Kentucky. The Narrow Space summer group show in Clonmel (4 July – 16 August) features work by Una Keeley, Mark Pepper, Valerie Treacy and others.
 
Building the RHA Future
Ireland's leading artists and writers have joined together to make their contribution to the Royal Hibernian Academy's 'Building the Future' Capital Campaign. They have donated significant works for auction to assist in developing the RHA's Ely Place site into a truly 21st-century arts facility. The auction takes place at MSL Ballsbridge in Dublin. Artists include Barrie Cooke, Louis le Brocquy, Brian Bourke, William Crozier, Martin Gale, Richard Gorman, Anita Groener, Seamus Heaney, Eithne Jordan, Alice Maher, Stephen McKenna, Abigail O'Brien, Breon O'Casey and John Noel Smith. The RHA reopens in October. Auction: 23 June; viewing 20 – 23 June
 
Garden Sculpture Showcase
Gormley's Fine Art hosts an International Sculpture Exhibition this summer against the beautiful backdrop of Brackenstown House in north county Dublin. The award-winning gardens there were originally designed by Italians Alessandro Galilei and Stephen Switzer in 1719, under the instruction of Lord Molesworth. Over 50 artists are combining life size pieces and large installations of over 14 feet high with smaller indoor sculpture pieces for this special exhibition. Participating artists include John Behan, Edward Delaney Rita Duffy, Colm Brennan, Debbi O Heir, Anna Duncan, Patrick O Reilly and Eileen McDonagh. Garden Sculpture: 24 June – 5 July
 
Rembrandt Etchings
In yet another landmark exhibition, the Chester Beatty Library plays host to an exhibition of over seventy prints from the Rembrandt House (Museum het Rembrandthuis), Amsterdam. In addition to his extensive oeuvre of paintings and drawings, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) produced around 290 prints. He acquired a European reputation in his own lifetime precisely because of his graphic work, which (because it could be reproduced) was much more widely seen than his paintings or drawings. The Chester Beatty Library also holds one of the finest collections of Mughal paintings in existence. A travelling exhibition this year will focus on a group of six albums compiled in India 1600–1658 for the Mughal emperors Jahangir and Shah Jahan and will travel to five major US museums: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington (until 2 August); Detroit Institute of the Arts (23 August – 16 November); Honolulu Academy of Arts (6 December – 1 March 2009); Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City (21 March – 14 June); and Denver Art Museum (4 July – 27 September). Rembrandt Prints: 25 June - 14 Sept
 
Living Pictures at IMMA
The Irish Museum of Modern Art will feature cutting-edge contemporary art throughout the summer. 'Whose beginning is not, nor end cannot be' is the enigmatic title of an exhibition by innovative young German artist Ulla von Brandenburg. Working in a wide variety of media, this artist is best known for her series of tableaux vivants, or 'living pictures', shot on Super-8 film. Also at IMMA is 'Self as Selves', an exhibition of some 10 works from the IMMA Collection featuring works by Maud Cotter, Hamish Fulton, Madge Gill, Ann Hamilton, and Hermione Wiltshire among others. 'Miquel Barcel—: The Africa Work' at IMMA also focuses on works inspired by renowned Spanish painter Miquel Barceló's frequent stays in West Africa. In prospect at IMMA too is 'Janaina TschŠpe: Chimera', the first solo exhibition in Ireland by German-Brazilian artist Janaina TschŠpe. Ulla von Brandenburg: 28 May - 12 October; Self as Selves: 17 June - 16 November; Miquel Barcelo: 15 June - 28 September; Janaina TschŠpe: 25 June - 28 September
 
Crossing the Rubicon
'Point of No Return' at the Rubicon Gallery should have a particular resonance in today's multicultural Ireland. The exhibition explores the crossing of boundaries, physical or geographical, fantastical or emotional, literal or abstract. The artists explore their subject through a wide variety of media – painting, photography, film, text drawings, a website and sculpture. Participating in this exhibition are StŽphane Calais, Thomas Joshua Cooper, Anne Katrine Dolven, Thomas Nozkowski, Robert Orchardson, Rafa‘l Rozendaal and Carl Andre. Point of No Return: 6 June - 15 August
 
Hugh Lane Centenary
The Hugh Lane Centenary Exhibition will be a major draw this summer - see our feature on page 74 of this edition. The centenary celebrations will be marked by an exhibition of the entire collection of 39 paintings known as the Hugh Lane bequest of 1917 on loan from the National Gallery London. This will be the first time this collection has been exhibited in Dublin since they were removed from Clonmell House, Harcourt Street in 1913. Hugh Lane Centenary: 26 June – 14 September
 
Wexford Solo Show
'River run past tumbledown' is the evocative title of an Eamon Colman solo show at Greenacres Gallery.
This artist, who has been exhibiting for the past twenty years, explains that nature and nurture have fed upon each other to create his personal visual language.
Read between the lines for yourself at the Selskar, Co Wexford venue. Eamon Colman: from 31 May
 
New Athlone Gallery Space
An exhibition of new oils by artist Kevin Flood holds pride of place in Treasures of Irish Art in Athlone in early summer. The show includes a range of still lifes, beach scenes and townscapes. Living and working in Co Longford, Flood has consistently put the emphasis firmly on quality before quantity throughout his career. See for yourself in Athlone, where his show marks the opening of a new room at this gallery. Kevin Flood: 2–20 June
 
The Architecture of Nighttown
Dublin painter Francis Matthews has concentrated mainly on Dublin street scenes to date. His work has a strong architectural foundation. However, the study of light is his main interest and hence nocturnes are a recurrent theme. This young artist's achievements at the RHA in the last two years attest to his talent. In 2007 he won The ESB Keating McLoughlin Medal RHA and was a runner up for The Hennessy Craig Scholarship. In 2006 he received The John De Vere First Time exhibitors award RHA and the Naughton Award. Recent work can be seen at the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland Gallery in Dublin. The exhibition is titled 'No.1 Raymond St, Dublin 6'. Francis Matthews: June
 
Paddy Lennon's Duende
An exhibition of new paintings and drawings by Paddy Lennon, entitled 'Duende', will be shown at The Norman Gallery in Co Wexford - Duende is a difficult to define phrase used in the Spanish arts, associated with emotion, expression and authenticity. Known for his evocative and emotive drawings of horses, these new colour field paintings are sensuous and richly coloured and are inspired by a period of time spent in Spain. Duende: 30 May – 15 June
 
Planes Trains AND Automobiles
A new exhibition opens at the National Photographic Archive in Dublin this June. Photographs of transatlantic flight, rail travel and early motor cars will be represented in the exhibition, drawn from the O'Dea, Lawrence, Irish Independent and Morgan collections. Planes Trains and Automobiles: 25 June – 6 October
 
Fallen Angel in West Cork
Hughie O'Donoghue shows a new painting and a large group of recent prints in 'Fallen Angel and selected carborundum prints & etchings' at the Catherine Hammond Gallery in West Cork.While best known as a painter, this artist relates: 'The relationship between my paintings and the related prints is one that is constantly in flux - sometimes the prints closely follow the path of a painting and on other occasions they lead the way, opening up and exploring a new subject.' Also at the Catherine Hammond Gallery 'The Green Fuse' is the arresting title of an exhibition exploring organic growth and the energy of living things that includes work from Barrie Cooke, Bernadette Kiely, Nick Miller, Paul Mosse and Eilis O'Connell. Hughie O'Donoghue: 31 May - 25 June; The Green Fuse: 26 July – 20 August
 
Shadowlands
Harry Moore will exhibit a collection of pinhole photographs, entiteld 'Shadowlands', at Cork City Hall civic offices this summer. The images are taken with hand made pin hole cameras and were inspired by the Docklands in Cork, says Moore: 'When I first moved to Cork I was intrigued by the Docklands area and the history represented in the variety of architecture present, the activity of the ships and their cargoes as well as the occasional arrival of tall ships. In my photographs I have tried to evoke some of that initial awe I felt in exploring the buildings and docks.' Moore's work is included in the collections of the Crawford Gallery, Cork City Council, Cork County Council and the Glucksman Gallery. Shadowlands is a collaboration between Moore and writer William Wall. Shadowlands: June
 
Summer auctions
DeVeres Art Auctions have restricted their June auction to just 100 quality works. The sale will be held at The D4 Hotel (formerly The Berkeley Court) in Dublin 4 on 10 June. Highlights include Gerard Dillon's Omey Island, Race Day (estimate E60,000/E90,000), which has been in the same ownership since it was painted, and Camille Souter's The Knockout (estimate E30,000/E40,000).
James Adam's has a busy sales schedule this June: Fine Period Furniture, Painting and Decorative Arts on 11 June followed by Contemporary & Modern Art on 17 June at its St Stephen's Green salerooms. Whyte's are inviting entries for their autumn and winter auctions of Important Irish Art at the RDS. Entries close late July for sales on 29 September and 24 November 24; deVere's: 10 June; James Adam: 11 June, 17 June; Whyte's: 29 September, 24 November
 
Back to First Base
The first solo exhibition in Ireland for many years by Irish-born, New York-based artist Liam Roberts is rostered for The Peppercanister Gallery in June. Roberts was born in Bunclody, Co Wexford, later embarking upon his art education in both Italy and Spain. He now lives and works in New York and is a regular exhibitor with the Robert Steele Gallery. His oeuvre ranges from small, intricate abstract gouaches to large, lively and colourful works executed in acrylic on canvas. Liam Roberts: June
 
Walter Verling 60 year retrospective
The first major retrospective by painter Walter Verling will be held at the Limerick City Gallery of Art this summer. The exhibition comprises over 100 works made in the past 60 years. Verling has been engaged in landscape painting since his youth and has remained committed to plein-air painting all his life. Also in Limerick, video installations by contemporary Scottish artists from the Glasgow Museums Collection will include seminal works by Roddy Buchanan, Dalziel+Scullion, Graham Fagen and Douglas Gordon. An experimental project, curated by Susan Holland, involving a series of residencies for emerging artists in the gallery will investigate artists' notions of the gallery system and how audiences engage with contemporary art and its producers. Walter Verling: 60 Year Retrospective: 13 June – 28 August; Scottish Contemporary Art: 13 June – 28 August; Contemporary: Artists explore the Gallery as Studio: 13 June – 28 August