ARTS Emma Barone exhibition opens in Westport

WEATHER BEATEN ‘Scarlet Labyrinth’, by Emma Barone, one of the paintings in ‘Atlantic Trees’, an upcoming exhibition at The Custom House Studios, Westport.

Art in the bend of a tree


Ciara Moynihan

‘Atlantic Trees’, an exhibition of work by Co Offaly artist Emma Barone, will open in the Custom House Studios Gallery, Westport Quay, this Thursday evening, May 3, at 6pm.
The exhibition is comprised of a series of site-specific tree paintings. Barone has long been fascinated by the shape that trees adopt on the West Coast of Ireland – in particular, their distinctive windblown profile, sculpted by the elements and the high winds of the Atlantic Ocean.
Barone sees this physical manifestation of ‘shape’ as having spiritual, psychological, elemental and socio-historical dimensions. For her, the trees have an energy that “absorbs, responds and emits in a cyclical, generational, manner.”
The paintings in ‘Atlantic Trees’ aim to capture these layers in a way that causes the observer to think about their own relationship with past, present and future. The artist’s ultimate intention is, she explains, “to provoke and challenge while simultaneously providing spiritual comfort.”
Barone’s diverse background undoubtedly informs her work. She has worked in the areas of animation and interior, graphic and jewellery design, and with a range of media, including  stained glass, ceramics, acrylic, oils, charcoal and pencil and ink. The upcoming exhibition at the Custom House Studios is an example of her penchant for strong, bold colours, and many of the paintings themselves possess a luminosity not unlike stained glass.
Two of Barone’s commissioned paintings are in the World Trade Centre Amsterdam, while   many others have been commissioned for collections throughout Ireland, Europe and America.

Emma Barone’s ‘Atlantic Trees’ exhibition will run at the Custom House Studios Gallery, The Quay, Westport, until May 27. The gallery is open Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm, and from 1pm to 5pm on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays.