Cavanacor Gallery

 

Christmas Exhibition 2006

Participants: Martin Gale, Mick O’Dea, Neisha Allen, Brian Ballard, Martin Mooney, Makiko Nakamura, Eamon O’Kane and Resident Artists.

Cavanacor Gallery have an excellent line-up for this year’s Christmas exhibition. The artists taking part all pay tribute to art historical traditions: portraiture, landscape and still life. This exhibition shows the contemporary possibilities in these areas. Neither Gale nor Mooney have previously exhibited in Cavanacor but the work of both perfectly complements that of the other practitioners.

Mick O’Dea’s ‘Plastic Warriors’ was the first solo exhibition at Cavanacor in 1999 and he makes a welcome return with his reduced interiors in this exhibition.

Brian Ballard is currently based in Belfast. He is an accomplished practitioner in a variety of genres including landscape, figure painting and still life. Slade graduate, Martin Mooney applies formal principles to his compositional arrangement. His still life works and architectural paintings show apt colouring and they have an intimacy and mystery that intrigues the viewer.

Neisha Allen recently had her first solo exhibition at the Island Arts Centre, Lisburn. Her realist still life paintings are comprised of a limited range of objects and they convey subtle beauty. Her singular portraits have attracted attention and she is represented in the National Portrait Collection in Limerick.

Martin Gale has a unique style through his application of paint and method of composition. He creates habitual scenes but these are never ordinary in presence. The RHA held a major exhibition of Gale’s work in association with Nissan Ireland in 2004.

Eamon O’Kane currently lives and works in Bristol. His recent paintings consist of views of architectural interventions where the man-made meets with nature. For this exhibition, O’Kane has produced a series of double portraits in watercolour that reference classical works these are revised to produce haunting compositions.

Born in Kyoto, Japan, Makiko Nakamura moved to Ireland seven years ago due to the influence of Samuel Beckett on her practice. Her refined creative discipline enables her to produce abstract surfaces of exceptional quality.

Recent works are also featured by resident artists: Joanna, Eddie, Matthew and David O’Kane.

The exhibition continues until 31st January 2007.

Christmas Exhibition: Martin Gale, Mick O’Dea, Neisha Allen, Brian Ballard, Martin Mooney, Makiko Nakamura, Eamon O’Kane
Dates: 2 December 2006 – 31 January 2007
Venue: Cavanacor Gallery, Ballindrait, Lifford, Co. Donegal. T 074 9141143 E art@cavanacorgallery.ie W www.cavanacorgallery.ie
Times: 12-6 Tues-Sat or by appointment