Art picks up where nature ends, writes Gerry Walker of Dermot McNevin’s new paintings
Many artists resist the critic’s urge to categorise and classify. They regard it as reductive if not downright dismissive. British sculptor Henry Moore advised artists against over-talking their work, advising them to conserve their creative tension instead for more purposeful effect. French author Jean Cocteau reputedly said that asking an artist to talk about work was as useful as having a plant discuss horticulture. Today, artists are more willing to engage with critical discourse, seeing it as an important component of communication, self-realisation and enablement.
Good discursive engagement invariably begins with reference to the artist’s written statement, if and whenever it may exist. Dublin artist Dermot McNevin has published a brief articulate essay which describes his interest in landscapes, both real and imagined.
Peter Murray recalls the independent spirit Edith Blake, diarist and artist and one-time occupant of Myrtle Grove, Youghal, County Cork
While working as an intern at the NPA Mike Bors gained access to a remarkable collection created by talented amatuer, Sir Robert Ball, astromoner and scientific adviser to the Commissioners of Irish Lights
Peter Pearson welcomes a new chapter in the management of Johnstown Castle, County Wexford