Jack Donovan and Martin Finnin

October 8th to 29th 2009

 

(L-R) Jack Donovan, New Wedding Series, Oil on Board; Jack Donovan, The Cardinals Niece, Oil on Boar; Martin Finnin, Dreams of a Magic Bullet, Oil on Canvas; Martin Finnin, Forty Nine Ox Hides and a Lump of Faith, Oil on Canvas 

 

Limerick Printmakers Studio and Gallery are very proud to announce a joint exhibition of new paintings by two renowned Limerick artists, Jack Donovan and Martin Finnin.

Fellow Limerick Artist John Shinnors will officially open the exhibition at 8pm on Thursday 8th October.  There will be a preview of the work on the 8^th of October from 11am until 5.30pm and work will be available for sale from 7pm. 

Jack Donovan has been painting in Limerick since the 1960’s and during his time as the Principal of the art school (1962-1978) he played an influential role on many of Limerick’s fine artists. His own work has been strongly influenced by imagery from his childhood including circus imagery and time spent in Kilkee. His work is influenced by many of the great artists including Braque, Matisse and Picasso.  The work in this show features his strong stylised figures. The piece ‘Circus Scarecrow’ features a figure made from two entwined poles, some pink rubber gloves and a dress haphazardly hung. The face has the large staring eyes for which Donovan is known, and has exaggeratedly pink cheeks. The dark sky and isolated background gives the viewer a sense of a surrealistic and staged event.  Donovan’s work is in collections such as the Arts Council of Ireland, Arts Council of Great Britain, Swedish Academy of Visual Art, CIE, Limerick City Gallery of Art and the National Self-Portrait Collection. His many solo show include a major retrospective of his work in Limerick City gallery of art in 2004. 

Martin Finnin’s palette for this show is softly muted, with beautiful turquoises and blues with canvasses that are all highly decorated with motif, oblong shapes, aboriginal dots and soft layering of paint. These abstract pieces conjure up primitive imaginings and feelings. Finnin is inspired by what he sees in everyday life. In the piece ‘Forty Nine Ox Hides and a Lump of Faith’ this layering is demonstrated where strong shapes emerge through a sea of colour, and white flecks and dots pattern the surface texture giving the viewer a strong sense of depth. For this show Finnin has also created a beautiful series of colour etchings to coincide with Limerick Printmakers 10^th birthday. A Limerick native, Finnin has shown his work in Mexico, Holland, Lithuania, and Canada amongst other countries. He has recently shown in The Vanguard Gallery in Cork and will be showing in The John Martin Gallery in London in May 2010. 

Although the works from these two strong Limerick artists are stylistically different, they share a passion for paint and colour. Both artists have enjoyed sell-out shows in Limerick Printmakers Studio and Gallery in the past and are highly collectable.  This show promises to be rich, inspirational, full of originality, colour and flair. 

The exhibition will run until 29^th October For further information on this exhibition, please contact Limerick Printmakers Studio and Gallery at the details below. The gallery is open Monday to Friday 11am to 5.30pm and Saturday 10am to 4pm.  

All are welcome. Admission is free.