Brian Fallon traces painterly antecedents in the work of that most European of artists, Stephen McKenna, ahead
of his thematic exhibition at Dublin City Gallery the Hugh Lane
Stephen McKenna has become a formidable,
even unavoidable figure in contemporary Irish art, and a number of our younger painters are more and more conscious of his role as such. He is by now, indeed, something of an Elder Statesman of art in this country. Yet his training was English (Slade School, 1959-64 ), he spent much of his career in Germany and Italy, and a number of his more recent one-man exhibitions have been held in Spain – Barcelona, Madrid and Seville. The impressive catalogue for his exhibition in the Hugh Lane Gallery (and already seen in Middlesbrough) is entitled Stephen McKenna: Perspectives of Europe 1980-2014 – on the face of it, quite a grandiose claim but one which the contents fully justify.
Overcoming the slow down at home, Irish architects Heneghan Peng, Grafton Architects, O’Donnell+Tuomey amongst others have looked to international competitions, but overseas projects are not without risk, writes John McLaughlin
In addition to creating a likeness of her daughter, Geraldine O’Neill has in mind the age-old interrogation of representation, writes Robert Ballagh of this year’s recipient of the Ireland-U.S. Council/Irish Arts Review Portraiture Award
James Watson could trace his family’s artistic lineage to York Minster and following his move to Cork he launched a new tradition to last a hundred years, writes Vera Ryan.