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Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Visual art reviews: David Mach's exploding cottage impresses at Galway Arts Festival
Galway International Arts Festival David Mach, Burning Down the House, Festival Gallery, William Street David Mach has become something of a regular in Galway, this being his fourth major show at the International Arts Festival in twenty years. The Scottish artist likes to work at scale, and his installation this year is a huge sculpture of an exploding cottage called Burning Down the House. No explanation is given for the explosion; all the viewer is presented with is the work itself, a 3-D model of a traditional stone cottage that one can walk around and see from all sides. A sofa, a television, a fridge/freezer and the front door blown off its hinges are clearly discernible amidst the debris and bursts of flame. The explosion has clearly come from within the building, which suggests it might have been a rural meth lab, or a bomb factory, in which the process of creation has gone drastically wrong. One of David Mach's pieces at Galway International Arts Festival. It's an intriguing piece of work, one that inevitably recalls Cornelia Parker's Cold, Dark Matter: An Exploded View, for which the artist invited the British Army to blow up a shed, but goes beyond it again in terms of its theatricality and impact. Burning Down the House is augmented by an exhibition of Mach's 'coat hanger' sculptures, striking figurative pieces constructed entirely of wire. The Thief depicts a nine-foot human figure suspended from the ceiling; Spike (The Cheetah) captures a big cat mid-prowl; while Arms I-IV is, as its title suggests, a series of human arms in various poses. All are covered in spikes, simultaneously inviting the viewer to look closer while ensuring that they can only come so far. This is art that could, quite literally, poke your eye out. Conor Moloney & John Conneely, Funeral for Ashes, Festival Printworks Gallery, Market Street Conor Moloney and John Conneely's Funeral for Ashes is a hugely enjoyable immersive installation, in which the viewer is invited to stand in the midst of processed film images, inspired by the native Irish ash tree, projected on the walls and floor of the exhibition space. An outline of the viewer then appears amongst the projections. Funeral For Ashes. One visitor took the experience to extremes, standing on his head, to the delight of the children present. As a project intended to draw attention to the demise of the ash, it is perhaps less successful than it is as a participatory artwork. Jane Cassidy and Arts Alive, Tactile Tunes, Aula Maxima, University of Galway Jane Cassidy and Arts Alive's Tactile Tunes installation at the Aula Maxima at the University of Galway is a series of sculptures that produce sounds as one engages with them. Touch a series of seashells, and they each create a jingle. Stroke a rock form, and it produces a deep bass drone. The overall effect is mesmeric. Jane Cassidy and Arts Alive, Tactile Tunes. Cassidy is a local artist, and her work with Arts Alive, a community-based arts programme for adults with intellectual disabilities, deserves every support available.
RTÉ News
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
New UCC portrait series celebrates trailblazing women of Munster
A new portrait series honouring 11 influential women from Munster is set to become part of University College Cork's permanent art collection. The portraits will be displayed in the university's historic Aula Maxima as part of the latest edition of Accenture's ongoing Women on Walls initiative. The project marks a departure from earlier instalments by broadening its focus beyond academic and scientific achievement to include women who have made significant contributions to Irish society through literature, activism, health, education, and community work. Most of the women portrayed are still living, and were nominated by the public through an open call led by UCC. Four artists - Vera Klute, Vanessa Jones, Gerry Davis, and Julianne Guinee - have been commissioned to create the works. Guinee, a former teacher who turned to painting following personal loss, will paint a group portrait of eight women: Dr. Evelyn Grant, Dr. Naomi Masheti, Mary Crilly, Dola Twomey, Caitríona Twomey, Brigid Carmody, Dr. Myra Cullinane, and Dr. Patricia Sheahan. Among the individual portraits, Gerry Davis will depict acclaimed author Edna O'Brien, while Vera Klute will paint sports journalist and disability rights advocate Joanne O'Riordan and Vanessa Jones' subject is educator and reformer Nano Nagle. Louise O'Reilly, Chief Executive of Business to Arts, called the new chapter "a landmark commission," adding: "The artists chosen display deep creativity and care when considering their subjects, and it is a privilege to work with them to create works of portraiture that will shape the legacy of both these women and UCC's art collection."
