‘Gathered’, an exhibition of abstract still-life paintings by Liza Kavanagh, is on at the Leitrim Design House. Kavanagh captures her joy found in everyday objects on the kitchen dresser; ceramic bowls, earthenware jugs, patterned plates and vases, bowls of ripening fruit and seasonal flowers, in her vibrant, colourful and patterned work.
Liza Kavanagh: until 28 November
John Gerrard’s mirror pavilions are a highlight of the Galway International Arts Festival and Galway 2020. Large 7x7m cube structures, the two pavilions, Corn Work and Leaf Work, are sculptural and light installations clad in highly reflective mirror with a high-resolution LED wall. They are powered by local sustainable energy sources at two sites, Claddagh Quay in Galway and the Derrigimlagh Bog beyond Clifden. Using a technique described as motion matching, Gerrard generates an ongoing infinite choreography, based on the recorded movements of dancers. The two works aim to reflect the history of their locations: agriculture and industry in the city; and in Connemara, the Marconi transmission and later, the Alcock and Brown first transatlantic plane landing.
Claddagh Quay: 2 – 26 September; Derrigimlagh Bog: 10 – 31 October
Jack Butler Yeats, ‘A Thought of Sligo’, at The Model examines the influence of Sligo and the West on the development of his creative practice. Having spent his childhood in Sligo town in the care of his grandparents and extended family, Jack B Yeats was deeply inspired by the people and landscape of the area. This exhibition reflects that interest in place throughout the arc of his artistic practice, from his earliest documented oil painting completed in 1897 to the expressive and emotive visions of his later years, the setting of which is always unmistakably Sligo.
Jack Butler Yeats: until 1 November
‘The Sea Around Us’ at The Model, Sligo, is an ambitious, large-scale group exhibition that explores our complex relationship with the ocean. The visual and sound-based works in this exhibition reflect the motion of the sea and humankind’s multi-faceted relationship with it. Work by John Akomfrah, Forensic Oceanography, Shaun Gladwell, Karen Power and Suzanne Winterling will be included.
Opening 23 July
