The Zurich Portrait Prize and Zurich Young Portrait Prize exhibitions open at Crawford Art Gallery, showing the winning and shortlisted artists’ works. Visitors to the gallery also have a final opportunity to see ‘Statio Bene: Art and Ireland’s Maritime Haven’, an exhibition of works from the gallery’s collection that looks at the maritime traditions of Cork’s naval and seafaring history.
Zurich Portrait Prize and Young Portrait Prize: 16 April – 11 July; ‘Statio Bene: Art and Ireland’s Maritime Haven: until 30 April
Sheena Jolley takes photographs of wildlife from East Africa to County Clare though her shots of African animals are inevitably more dramatic than the Irish ones. ‘Beguiled by the Wild: Wildlife Photography from Tanzania and the Wild Atlantic Way’ at the Blue House Gallery presents a portfolio of her images of iconic and elusive species from both continents.
Sheena Jolley: 23 April – 12 May
Peruvian artist Daniela Ortiz’s first exhibition in Ireland is at the Sirius Arts Centre. Ortiz explores migratory control systems through performance, photography and installation. Her practice draws on her own experience of displacement as a South American living in Spain. Sirius also commissioned a work from Ortiz that addresses the experiences of racialised people in Europe.
Daniela Ortiz: until 22 May
Dara McGrath’s ‘Project Cleansweep’ at the South Tipperary Arts Centre is a long-term photographic and visual investigation into the landscapes and sites of chemical and biological weapons. The work focuses on the impact of human action and inaction on these sites, many of which appear at first glance bucolic and sublime. A prompt for conversations on our local environment, his work invites us to question both what lies beneath and the effects of chemical usage.
Dara McGrath: from 1 April
Stephen Brandes likes to tell stories in his distinctive work, employing travel fiction, absurdism and satire. ‘La Place des Grands Abysses’, his exhibition at Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre, is the culmination of ten years of research, observation, and invention. Using a fictional character named Albert Sitzfleisch, Brandes offers both a humorous and poignant meditation on the legacy of the Enlightenment and the EU.
Stephen Brandes: 24 April – 3 June
Marking the centenary of the birth of designer Sybil Connolly, the Hunt Museum is highlighting Connolly’s innovative and important work through its online platforms. Each month, the museum posts a new story about an aspect of the designer’s practice on its Instagram page that looks at her techniques, entrepreneurial drive, influencing skills, and her distinctive clothing.
Sybil Connolly: ongoing
The Source Arts Centre exhibition ‘Out Building’ features work by artists John Kennedy, Marilin North and John O’Reilly that explores depictions of functional, prefabricated, or kit-built dwellings. These are perceived to have low architectural value and the artists’ work addresses this (mis)perception, considering how image-making can create, identify, or add value to what can be regarded as functional and mundane.
‘Out Building’: 12 March – 24 April
Gallery 23 shows work by owner-artists Kate and Philip French, and their son, Kit French. The works from 2020 include sculpture, printed textiles and drawings by Kate; west Cork landscapes in oil and watercolour by Philip; and landscape and portrait paintings from Kit.
French family: 4 March – 23 May
The title of Jennifer McAuliffe’s ‘The Precious Hours’ at the Montenotte Hotel refers to the time the artist found for her painting practice during 2020. The Cork-based artist’s work shows in association with the Gallery in Kinsale and embodies an appreciation of the material qualities of oil paint.
Jennifer McAuliffe: until 30 June
