Viewable online from 10 November 2020
In association with the Highlanes Gallery
A catalogue is available with texts by Sean Rainbird – Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, Sean Hoy – Ambassador of Ireland to Brazil, Yvonne Scott and Zaena Sheehan – Art Historians, and artist Margaret Corcoran.
Wexford Arts Centre are pleased to present an online viewing room for a Further Enquiry – Love & Independence, showcasing new work from one of Ireland’s most respected painters, Margaret Corcoran.
The exhibition presents three strands of work and reflects areas of focus in Corcoran’s practice over the last two decades from The Enquiry Series as she explores her relationship to art and history through the Collection of the National Gallery of Ireland; to a series exploring Bhutan and specifically since the 1970s where the country has compiled an index of happiness as a way of measuring social contentment; and the third series stemming from photographs taken in Rwanda which offered the artist inspiration to explore aspects of a country emerging from a long history of colonisation and conflict.
Corcoran in her essay Painting in a Pandemic says of the Bhutan series – ‘The pandemic brought an intense period of self-reflection and healing for me. I tried to imagine the kind of world that I would like to live in afterwards. The quiet that came from the beginning stages was so beautiful – the quieting of the pace and the mind. I found it notable how reassuring it was to be so intimately connected to others by the act of painting. Just the observation of skin tones and the regard for the posture or gesture taken by a fellow human being was a great source of connection. I was grateful to have this heightened appreciation of the world and its inhabitants – by painting them, by recording them.’
Right: The Prince and the King – Bhutan 1974 – Version II, May 2020, watercolour on paper, 63 x 49 cm
Right: Golden Hand – Bhutan 1974, May 2020, watercolour on paper, 63 x 49 cm
Right: Bullet sign at Royal Albert Park , May 2020, watercolour on paper, 63 x 49 cm
Right: The Kingdom of Happiness, 2016, watercolour on paper 64.5 x 48 cm
Margaret Corcoran has exhibited in both group and solo exhibitions at home and abroad since 1999. Corcoran holds a Masters in Fine Art Painting from the National College of Art and Design and her work is in the collections of the Office of Public Works, Trinity College Dublin and the Arts Council of Ireland. Corcoran is represented by the Kevin Kavanagh Gallery in Dublin.
Right: Viewing Lavinia Fontana, 2019, oil on linen, 62 x 92 cm
Commissioned by the Highlanes Gallery, the exhibition received an Arts Council Touring & Dissemination Award and is presented in partnership with Wexford Arts Centre, Custom House Gallery & Studios, Westport. It will travel to Custom House Gallery & Studios early in 2021.
For further information on A Further Enquiry – Love & Independence, artist Margaret Corcoran or the accompanying exhibition catalogue and artwork sales please contact Catherine Bowe – Curator, Wexford Arts Centre, Cornmarket, Wexford on +353 (0)53 91 23764 or email catherine@wexfordartscentre.ie .
