The Front Row: admiring art

Although some counties are at present at level three on the Government’s Plan for Living with COVID-19, in other counties, where people feel safe to do so, there is an opportunity to escape into a world of fantasy, beauty and excitement in the arts.

This week I am suggesting a few different gallery choices around the country. One piece of advice is to check online before you travel as you may need a ticket for some events, even if they are free.

Cork

The Crawford Art Gallery in Cork has a range of exhibitions and shows. Some will be a balm to the soul, and very welcome at this time. Others are more challenging but well worth the exploration. Among the latter is lucid abnormalities. It brings together works by some of our greatest talents with a paintbrush, as well as some more contemporary figures such as Suzanna Chan, responsible for the work featured here, a detail from The Cabinet of Exotica, painted in 1993. She, Patrick Scott and Cecily Brennan share space with works by Sean Keating, John Lavery, Edith Somerville and Jack B Yeats.

A wonderful antidote after seeing lucid abnormalities might be to spend some time in the darkened setting where you may view three magnificent stained glass panels, featuring the early works of Harry Clarke. Made while he was a student at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art, they earned him a gold medal in 1911, thus catapulting his career into orbit.

Belfast

The current pandemic has been hugely disruptive for us all, and among those affected have been students. The highlight for any student of art is always their final year show, an opportunity to put in front of the public the best examples of their work.

For the next couple of weeks you can see some of this work by the students of the Belfast School of Art at The MAC, and afterwards you can explore Belfast’s cathedral quarter which has MAC at its centre.

Sligo

A visit to The Model Sligo is never a disappointment and regular readers will know that my admiration for the work of Jack B Yeats is boundless. Until the end of October the gallery, permanent home to many works by Yeats, is showing A Thought of Sligo. If focuses on the influence which Sligo and the west of Ireland had on the artist. He was deeply inspired having spent his childhood in the town in the care of his grandparents. A highlight of this show is Yeats’ earliest documented oil painting, completed in 1897.

Louth

There is a real gem awaiting any visitor to Drogheda and it comes in the form of the Highlanes Gallery. Home to the Drogheda Municipal Art Collection, this is a visit that is certain to delight. Here you will find a range of work by leading Irish artists, with a couple of surprising names among them, and some outstandingly beautiful pieces too. Many will perhaps recognise the name George William ‘AE’ Russell as a writer before they would recognise it as an artist, and he features along with works by Evie Hone, Nano Reid, Mary Swanzy and James Whistler.

Hopefully galleries in other counties will manage to reopen in the coming weeks and, if so, I would heartily recommend booking to see Dame Paula Rego’s exhibition at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) in Dublin which runs until the end of the year. It is titled Obedience and Defiance.

Please stay safe and follow public health advice.