Art

A sense of belonging: This week’s visual arts highlights

Oikeiôsis means ‘coming into one’s own’, and these artists have certainly come into their own

Natalia Black, Northern Lights (2019), Acrylic on Board (detail), from Musica Universales at Green on Red Gallery

Aidan Dunne's face
Aidan Dunne
Sat Jun 1 2019 - 05:00

Musica Universales
Natalia Black. Green on Red Gallery, Park Lane, Spencer Dock, Dublin Until July 6th greenonredgallery.com

Born in Slovakia, Natalia Black moved to Northern Ireland following her graduation. From the first, her intensely chromatic abstractions have shown her fascination not just with colour but also pattern and the materiality of paint. The paint she uses is acrylic, and she stretches it to its limits and some way beyond in works that retain a refreshingly playful edge.

Oikeiôsis (a sense of belonging)
TU Dublin Photography Graduate Exhibition. Gallery of Photography, Meeting House Sq, Dublin Until June 12th galleryofphotography.ie

In Ancient Greece, Oikeiôsis described the process “of coming into one’s own, of belonging to oneself but also fulfilling the desire for affinity and affiliation”. Projects, including photobooks, by this year’s TU graduates touch on ways that individuals find homes for themselves, emotionally and socially, in terms of family, communities and sub-cultures.

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How Much Land (does a man need)
Bernadette Kiely. The Source Arts Centre, Cathedral St, Thurles, Co Tipperary Until June 28th thesourceartscentre.ie

The title is from a short story by Tolstoy about a man whose greed for land leads to his ruin. James Joyce called it the greatest story in literature. In her paintings and drawings on canvas, photographs and objects, Kiely explores the question in relation to current environmental issues. Meanwhile, her exhibition based on her mother’s life experience . . . tell me about your mother . . . (feat. The Two Travellers) has a brief run at The Friary, Carrick Beg, Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary until June 3rd as part of the Clancy Brothers Festival.

Coming Home
Brian O'Doherty. Roscommon Arts Centre, Circular Road, Roscommon Until July 26th

The great Brian O’Doherty (aka for some years as Patrick Ireland) was born in Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon, so the title is absolutely accurate. This show, marking the reopening of the enhanced arts centre, features a number of the artist’s new works recently published by Stoney Road Press as limited edition prints, and coincides with the launch (Sat June 1st, 4pm) of a new publication on O’Doherty’s extensive output as an artist, with texts by Luke Gibbons, Katie Holten, Joanne Laws and Sue Rainsford. Linda Shevlin is the curator.

ARTWORKS 2019
Carlow Arts Festival and VISUAL Annual Open Submission and Art Awards. VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art, Old Dublin Road, Carlow. June 4th-September 1st visualcarlow.ie

Works by Irish and international artists, and selected works from IMMA’s collection, keyed to Prince’s lyric for Purple Rain about getting through “this thing called LIFE” and concluding with the words “Let’s go crazy”. Plenty of scope there, then. The show encompasses film, sound, performance, paintings, sculpture, new media and photography. Jo Mangan, Dennis McNulty and Emma-Lucy O’Brien selected. And there are prizes, sponsored by HOTRON, for best work, and the Éigse Prize for a recent graduate.