Exhibition of award-winning artist

Fran McCann’s interest in art began developing at a young age and inspired by Irish mythology and music, he has since exhibited his works around the world. The Lough Cultra resident’s work is currently being shown in Australia and Italy but he has also exhibited in Irish and international galleries including The Quadreria Gallery in Italy, The Dolmabahce Palace Museum in Istanbul, The Art Domain in Leipzig, Germany as well as in Ireland at the Kenny Gallery Galway and Cancer Care West.
Fran has received a number of international awards in recent years and this month brings a selection of his work to the Kenny Art Gallery in Lahinch. The talented painter is a member of Trevisan International Art (TIA) in Northern Italy, an exclusive forum for contemporary artists curated by Paola Trevisan.
“I became a member of the TIA about six years ago. I was selected as a member and it is great for making connections with artists from around the world. Every year, there are 80 to 85 artists who arrive in Ferrara in Northern Italy, in the Castello Estense; we meet up and have an international exhibition. It is a very big show and it is improving every year. After the opening of each show all the artists meet up in a restaurant and have a great evening. It is a good way to introduce my work to an Italian audience. It is also a fantastic way to meet international artists who travel around exhibiting their work at shows and the TIA show is one of the major ones,” Fran explains.
While he has received a number of awards from the TIA, Fran has also been acknowledged at another major Italian art event. He is the only Irishman to be recognised by the Associazione Cultural Italy In Arte over three consecutive years, being awarded The Van Dyke Award in 2007, The Michelangelo Award in 2008 and the Leonardo Da Vinci Award in 2009.
Indeed, when Fran was nominated for the 2007 award, his scepticism prevented him from attending, something he very much regrets since.
“I received an A4 envelope in the post one day in November, it must have been in 2007. In the envelope was a large glossy cart folded in three. It looked very classy, very professional; it was like something you would expect the Queen of England to send out. The quality was so good it took me back a bit. As an international artist you receive a lot of emails from around the world and a lot of them are con jobs. There was just a phone number on this particular piece of correspondence, no address or email, and we never seemed to be able to get in touch with the phone number. I entered but myself and my wife Mary didn’t travel to the awards ceremony in Italy. I suppose we were still a bit suspicious,” he recalled.
Their scepticism seemed well founded when they failed to hear anything back from the organisation immediately after the event. 
“About three months went by and then I got a phone call from Italy asking to verify my address. It turned out I had won an award and they had sent it to me but it had been returned, twice. They were contacting me this time because they wanted to make sure it got to me. I texted the courier on the third time round and met him on the road and got the parcel. It included the statuette and a DVD. The DVD was of the gala awards night. It was attended by the cardinal, the chief of police, politicians, doctors, professors and artists. When we watched it we were really sorry we didn’t go, to tell the truth we were kicking ourselves,” Fran remembered.
In 2008, he again received a similar A4 envelope in the post. This time he and his wife Mary attended the ceremony and once again he returned with an award, this time the Michaelangelo Award. Last year, he was again honoured but couldn’t attend. This time the courier knew where to find him.
“In 2007 I had never heard of these people, the Associazione Cultural Italy In Arte. They were just a group good enough to send me on an award. I think it is a government-backed organisation that has people who travel the length and breath of the country going to all the major exhibitions and shows and tracking down people they want to acknowledge. I have exhibited in a lot of places in Italy and I think that is how they found me,” Fran commented.
“It is very nice to get recognition in Italy,” he added.
Fran’s exhibition in Lahinch runs from June 26 to July 14 and includes a painting demonstration on Saturday, July 3.