Celtic Dawn

Wednesday May 3, 2017

Artists from the Far Reaches of the UK

Private View: Sunday 7th May 2017, 11am – 4pm.
The Exhibition continues until Saturday 27th May 2017, 5pm.
Artists: Noel Murphy, Hector McDonnell, Lisa Wright, Mark Surridge, Gareth Hugh Davies, Sigrid Muller, Marj Bond, Jackie Gardiner

I am always flabbergasted at the swiftness of time and, as the saying goes, the older we get the quicker it speeds up. Well, I know that one for sure but I cannot believe how quickly my big project has materialised.

Over the years I have had the good fortune to meet many wonderful artists and I often marvel how so many of them seem to live and work in what to me are the far reaches of the UK. Yet invariably from what appear to be constraints of considerable distance etc. so many of them are well established, having Private Views everywhere, and are very much embedded in the cut and thrust of the Art World.

The New Distance - Noel Murphy — ‘The New Distance’, Noel Murphy

Throughout the decades we have seen how important certain locations have been in fostering artists’ communities – Cornwall being a classic example or the South West of Ireland where artists, even if they don’t live there, go to seek solace and inspiration.

It all sounds wonderful for sure but what interested me was the huge importance of place, familiarity, landscape, community and how it deeply affects the modern day artist and why some artists hunker down where they do.

Gareth Davies - Ty Gwyn Near St Davids — ‘Ty Gwyn Near St Davids’, Gareth Davies

I have called the exhibition Celtic Dawn – I love the idea of a Celtic thread that unifies and it has been a huge pleasure to get to know, and now invite, artists who live and work in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Cornwall. I have chosen eight distinguished painters who I consider to be at the very top of their game. Between them they have exhibited all over the world, and won countless prizes and accolades.

They all embody an individuality and personal vision – combined with that strong sense of where they live and their communities.