ARTS Linenhall hosting two exhibitions

ON SHOW?‘Red barn, blue tractor’, oil on canvas, part of John McNulty’s solo exhibition at The Linenhall.

Tractors, barns and new beginnings


Two exhibitions currently running at the Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar, are well worth a visit: ‘Tractors and Barns’, by Mayo-based artist John McNulty and ‘Threshold’, a group show featuring work by this year’s graduates of the degree in Art and Design at GMIT Castlebar.
McNulty’s highly engaging exhibition features paintings and etchings by the multi-award-winning artist. His exhibition of rustic imagery is a selection of his paintings and etchings he has completed over the last four or five years.
The subjects, McNulty explains, are inspired by images familiar to him both in his youth and in adulthood: “The themes are rural with images of barns, farms and tractors. The source of the work is South Mayo where I live, and the Midlands where I spent some of my youth. The approach varies from realistic to more abstracted pieces.”
The artist is interested in the way life is altering in the west, but not necessarily in a nostalgic way. “My work explores images of rural life and the changing circumstances of the west of Ireland. I would hope that the images would evoke echoes in people’s minds of a quality in rural life that has changed almost imperceptibly,” he says. “The intention is not to approach the theme in a nostalgic way but to search for strong, evocative, sometimes playful ideas.”
McNulty’s work has been exhibited internationally since 1979 and can be found in numerous public and private collections. He has won the O’Sullivan Graphics Prize at the RHA, the Norman Ackroyd Etching Prize and the McNamara Print Award at Impressions, Galway. His Linenhall exhibition finishes up this Saturday, so anyone interested in catching it needs to get a wriggle on.   
‘Threshold’, meanwhile, showcases paintings from the eight graduates who recently finished the degree in Art & Design at GMIT Castlebar. The artists, who all studied part-time over six years, are Gabrielle Bishop, Bernie Bohan, Tina Burke, Maggi Geraghty, Jo Killalea, Kevin O’Donnell, Barbara Trawinski and Carol Wood.
Coming from diverse backgrounds, these artists bring together their distinctive interpretation and creativity in this show in the Linenhall Foyer – their threshold or point of entering into the wider art world. The paintings explore a broad range of personal concerns, experiences and viewpoints. These include historical and cultural themes, and issues relating to nature and the environment and aspects of the human condition, such as the mind, memory and identity.  
 
John McNulty’s exhibition, ‘Tractors and Barns’, continues at the Linenhall Arts Centre in Castlebar until this Saturday, June 29. Art & Design at GMIT Castlebar graduates’ group show, ‘Threshold’, runs at the centre until Friday, July 5. The Linenhall Gallery is open Monday to Friday, 10am to 5pm and Saturdays from 11am to 5.30pm. Admission is free.