Durack exhibition adds a touch of spring to Scariff Library

AN exhibition of landscape paintings by Seán Durack opened recently at the gallery at Scariff Library.
A large crowd gathered to view this exhibition of new paintings, particularly appropriate to this time of year, as spring encourages us to look at local landscapes anew and afresh.
Drawn to the places where man’s impact has been minimal, Seán’s landscapes are impressions of remote, uninhabited areas of upland and lakeshore that are reclaimed by nature. Ancient bog-cuttings and abandoned harbours are now naturalised and beautiful features, recaptured by the giant rolling spaces of hilltops or enclosed by encroaching trees and water.
The gallery at Scariff Library provides a wonderful opportunity to see the work of this highly regarded local painter. Seán was born in 1957 in Scariff and now lives in Mountshannon. He studied Art in NCAD in Dublin in the late ’70s and has had solo exhibitions in Holland, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Clare plus numerous group exhibitions.
On finishing art college, Seán worked on the Lough Derg Holy Island archeological dig and restoration, which led to a career in archeological illustrating in Cork and Waterford.
Returning to landscape painting over the last 15 years, Seán’s most recent solo exhibition was in The Snug, Mountshannon in 2008.
He regularly shows in the Iniscealtra Arts Festival and his work is held in collections in France, Holland, Germany, USA, Canada and throughout Ireland.
The exhibition, supported by Clare County Arts Office, continues at the Gallery at Scariff Library until April 2.