Hail the fisherman
The Graffan Gallery at Castle Espie Wetland Centre outside Comber in County Down, is the venue for Hail The Fisherman, (29 January – 13 February), a collection of work by Irish painter Cliona Fox. Primarily a painter, Dublin-based Cliona regularly undertakes residencies in various parts of the Country in order to seek inspiration. Among them have been in the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig, The Custom House Studios, Mayo and The Cill Rialaig Retreat, Co. Kerry.
Since leaving college (NCAD) she has had many solo and group exhibitions and her work is already in several private and State Collections including the OPW and Department of Foreign Affairs. She has exhibited widely throughout Ireland and abroad including New York, Brussels and Beijing. Her work is in several collections including: The Bord of Works, Dept. Foreign Affairs, Waterford Healing Trust, Cill Rialaig Collection and CIAA (European Union). Margaret McGuirke of the OPW predicted that after her sell out show in the Phoenix Park: - “Cliona Fox is going to be really big”.
Her work is constantly changing and developing and in these semi-abstract works she is exploring the still-life genre where each image tells a story. However rather than giving a linear explanation of the work, she allows the viewer to consider and fill in the blanks. It is therefore the objects themselves which become the central actors in a drama which tells an intriguing story.
Cliona doesn’t focus on idealising the scenes and as such the images often include degrees of decay and abandonment. Much attention is paid to surface quality and texture where she creates canvases of relief and ambiguity. Some wonderful passages of loose brushwork and expressive mark-making combined with a varied palette and elements of carefully constructed details make these works worth serious contemplation.
Hail The Fisherman runs from Saturday 29 January to Sunday 13 February. Castle Espie is open daily from 10.00 am, closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. When at the gallery why not visit The Loughshore Café for delicious, freshly prepared meals and snacks and the Castle Espie shop, for unusual gifts and books.
Access to the car park, visitor centre, shop, Loughshore Café and Graffan Gallery is free but normal admission applies to the wetlands.
For further information please contact 028 9187 4146.
