Artist Brian Bourke’s wind-swept West of Ireland scene Knockalough graces the cover of the autumn edition. JOHN P O’SULLIVAN travels to Bourke’s home in Connemara ahead of his exhibition in September at the Taylor Galleries and the artist’s ninetieth birth-day this year. Born in Dublin in 1856, Rose Barton became one of the most successful watercolour artists of her day. TOM DUFFY pays tribute to Barton, who was influenced by Impressionism and the American painter James McNeill Whistler. In the first half of the 20th century, the Cuala Press provided a ‘creative and promotional platform in print for over thirty artists, the majority of whom were women’. ANGELA GRIFFITH traces the foundation of Cuala and charts the work it produced. In conversation with AIDAN DUNNE, artist Thomas Brezing tells him that ‘Regardless of your intentions, I think your past feeds into what you do – it’s always there. It finds its own way.’ Emily Waszak draws on Japanese and Irish folklore to address the ‘poetics of mourning’. MARIANNE O’KANE BOAL visits the artist in Donegal and discusses recent work and her upcoming exhibition; Stephanie McBridE is drawn to Sharon Belton’s still-life photographs, which invite the viewer into ‘the gentler space of the humble and overlooked’; and PETER MURRAY contemplates Orla O’Byrne’s practice, which uses found objects from museum, gallery and church collections. NIAMH NicGHABHANN COLEMAN considers a selection of this year’s art graduates, as chosen by their colleges. Readers can also view the Irish Arts Review’s online platform, ‘New Generation Gallery’, which showcases the work of graduating BA and MA art students from colleges across Ireland. Elsewhere in the edition, MARGARITA CAPPOCK takes stock of Tamsin Snow’s immersive work; RÓISÍN KENNEDY admires John Cronin’s abstract oils; and JULIAN CAMPBELL champions Daniel Maclise’s portraits of women, many of which were of his sisters and friends and remained unseen by the public until after the artist’s death. Usual features include Art at Auction, Diary of Events and Design Portfolio by FRANCES McDONALD. There are book reviews by Grace O’Sullivan, Philip McEvansoneya, Chiara Harrison Lambe and Theo Dorgan. And finally, most of the ethnographic collections held at the National Museum of Ireland are in storage and not on display. In PHILIP McEVANSONEYA’s article on Tibetan artifacts held at the museum, he advocates for the display of all their ethnographic material, citing its increasing relevance in our diverse society. Enjoy!
John P O’Sullivan visits the studio and home of artist Brian Bourke in the West of Ireland
Margarita Cappock examines the work of artist Tamsin Snow, which explores the intersections of architecture, technology and the body
Painter John Cronin presents a series of abstract works that are intense, chaotic and claustrophobic, finds Róisín Kennedy
Marianne O’Kane Boal views work by Emily Waszak, which examines entanglements of place, position, ancestry and family
Niamh NicGhabhann Coleman finds that the work of this year’s graduates reflects a turn towards ideas of work, as well as the complexity of human relationships
In conversation with Aidan Dunne, Irish-German artist Thomas Brezing recounts a peripatetic early life and a present one still open to change
Sharon Belton’s images reveal a heightened sense of composition, a theatrical mise-en-scène, writes Stephanie McBride
Angela Griffith considers the hand-coloured prints of the Cuala Press and how that organisation helped create a ‘modern tradition’ for Irish women artists
Tom Duffy looks at the work of Rose Barton, who transformed the ordinary by incorporating ‘the picturesque’ into her Dublin and London streetscapes
Philip McEvansoneya considers how the Trench Collection of Tibetan art in the National Museum of Ireland was acquired by the collector, and the museum, and asks if it’s time this ethnographic display was made more accessible to the public
Daniel Maclise’s portraits of women, with their Romantic mood and understated symbolism, are among the best of his work, writes Julian Campbell
Daniel Breen selects a sculpture by Seamus Murphy in the collection of Cork Public Museum
