Two exciting new exhibitions launched at WGOA in Waterford city
Catherine Barron addresses attendees. PIC: DGM Photographic
The Waterford Gallery of Art on O’Connell Street launched two new exhibitions this month showcasing some of the very best artistic talent in Ireland and the South East.
Launched by Mayor of Waterford City and County, Councillor Jason Murphy, the packed-out gallery celebrated an exquisite retrospective of paintings by Catherine Barron, as well as the group show, ‘Faith in the Process’ which includes highlights from the historic Waterford Art Collection alongside newer artworks, commissions and loans.
Titled, ‘You couldn’t make it up’, Barron’s exhibition in the downstairs galleries includes salvaged metal plates, vintage 78rpm records, book covers, and playing cards.
Catherine Barron is a Carlow born artist who has lived and worked in Dungarvan since 2017.
Speaking of her work, Barron said: “What I realise is that the ordinary is extraordinary and all that pains or brings joy can be realised with gratitude, wonder and awe."
"The power of the imagination does not lay in its ability to invent, but to see more deeply, what is. And what is, is so awesome, you couldn’t make it up," she added.
As Luke Currall, curator of the Waterford Art Gallery, noted in the introductory text to Catherine Barron’s exhibition, it is “through this experiential entry into, and reworking of time, memory and uncertainty, that a tender and life affirming mystery and magic quietly reveals itself in the artworks of Catherine Barron".
The gallery’s ‘Faith in the Process’ exhibition, launched in its large upstairs space, includes artworks from the Waterford Art Collection, as well as loans and commissions, informed by religious or spiritual experience.
Artists exhibiting include: George William Russell (AE), Mainie Jellett, Evie Hone, Father Jack P Hanlon, Annie Shaw, John Foley, Ireland3000, Pat O'Brien, Gerhardt Gallagher, Rayleen Clancy, Ben Henessy, Patrick Collins, Canon T Patrick, Louisa Marchioness of Waterford, Imogen Stuart and more.
On show is work by “the faithful, priests, mystics, lapsed Catholics as well as converts, channelers of the transcendental, objectives seekers of enduring tradition, works of commemoration and memorial, and ventures into mythical visualisations”.
The gallery was particularly delighted to present significant new works by Rayleen Clancy, of An Rinn, Waterford-born photographer, John Foley, Icons by Dungarvan-based Annie Shaw and large graphic prints by Limerick-born, Berlin-based artist, Ireland 3000 (Brian O’Shea).
Both exhibitions are free to view for the public and will remain open and on display until August 16.
