Carissa Farrell discovers that no aspect of the human condition escapes Vera Klute’s focus as she marshalls her multi-disciplinary skills in preparation for her show at the Moelsworth Gallery in May
Across the disciplines of painting, animation and sculpture Vera Klute examines the impractical and occasionally embarrassing nature of human anatomy and behaviour while making fun of the foolish tendency of humans to anthropomorphise the world to their own image. It is a grand narrative that Klute cuts through incisively with inventive manipulation of primitive stop-action animation, illustration, drawing, kinetic sculpture, painting and video. Her eclectic use of motifs; body parts, organs, mechanical fittings, birds, insects and more, in peculiar couplings that hint at stylistic influences from early 20th-century science fiction, surrealism and Hieronymos Bosch. But she tones down their respective tendencies towards spectacle, fantasy and horror in favour of intimacy, melancholy and subtle humour. Klute takes good advantage of her exceptional technical range and sharp editorial instinct to make her work insightful, idiosyncratic and diverse.
Proving that good design is timeless, Virginia Teehan presents a selection of rare artefacts travelling to Boston College, celebrating Irish design from the Arts and Crafts Movement.
In response to the 1916 centenary, EVA International takes as its theme, the post-colonial legacy on the psyche and imagination of colonized communities, writes Michaele Cutaya.
A recent visit to Sligo County Library prompts Peter Harbison to ask, could our national institutions do more to give local communities access to their treasures?