The innovative work of Galway artist Laura Buckley (1977–2022) is being celebrated in an exhibition at the Galway Arts Centre. Born in Tuam, Buckley studied Fine Art – Painting at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. An MA followed at Chelsea College of Art and Design in London, where she began to experiment with video and kaleidoscopes, marrying the two forms to, as she asserted, ‘paint with light’. Buckley combined footage and audio with studio-produced sound and visuals to create kinetic kaleidoscopic installations.
‘Large-scale and complex work from galleries and private collections, mostly in the UK, have been transported to Galway for the exhibition,’ says Megs Morley, Director of Galway Arts Centre. ‘Buckley was intrigued by how images break down in refraction in an enclosed space.’
‘Reality and my practice became completely enmeshed’
Buckley drew on her own life to capture fleeting moments of light and colour, using her camera-phone or a video camera. ‘Reality and my practice became completely enmeshed,’ said the artist. She then projected the images onto materials such as glass, wood and metal, using mirrors to refract and shatter them. Buckley said she wanted people to feel a connection when they experienced her pieces, a collective memory, and that she aimed to take the viewer on a sensual journey through sound, light, pattern and movement.
Laura Buckley’s star shone brightly during her lifetime. Her solo exhibitions included shows at Mother’s Tankstation, Dublin in 2010, Supplement, London in 2011 and EIGEN + ART, Berlin in 2016. Her films featured in Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan, Bold Tendencies, London and the Serpentine Gallery, London. She was shortlisted for the Film London Jarman Award and selected as the Guardian artist of the week. Her sculpture and video work Fata Morgana showed at the Saatchi Gallery, London in 2019.
Curated by Eamonn Maxwell, ‘Painting with Light’ is showing at Galway Arts Centre until 30 March.
Judy Murphy
