Madigan exhibits at Lahinch Art Gallery

CLARE artist Carmel T Madigan has just launched her latest art exhibition, The Waves, the Breeze and the Dancing Leaves at the Lahinch Art Gallery.

This exhibition of 36 paintings is a personal journey into the heart and soul of the natural environment, heavily influenced by the raw wild nature of the windswept, weather-beaten Loophead Peninsula. This influence presents itself, not so much in the execution of the actual but in a more spiritual, soulful expression of its nature carved formations. It is in this natural environment at Loophead that Carmel grew up and it retains its sacredness for the artist, as she draws on its natural and spiritual resource not just for her paintings but also her poetry.
According to the artist, it is the open simplicity, a sense of being removed from the industrial intensity of life, and the constant natural movements of wind and ocean that draws her in. For Carmel, Loophead is a natural treasure trove, where she explores the salt marshes, the tufted moors, the stoney shores, the pounding ocean storms and the wild flowers. It is a delightful experience in winter and summer and this sentiment is presented in upbeat, colourful expressions in the artist’s work. Carmel is the daughter of Mai and PJ Magner, who still reside near the Bridges of Ross.
The past two years have been exceptional for Carmel in terms of exposure to the international art world. For instance, this May, Carmel travelled to New York for the opening of her exhibition Paradigms Fantastiques at the Amsterdam Whitney Gallery. She has received book publication offers from prestigious International Art Publishers in Florence and California, together with several invitations to exhibit her work throughout Italy and elsewhere. This summer, Carmel also worked on a public art mural at the newly extended Barefield National School. Carmel’s work is currently being exhibited at a group show of leading female artists at Sol Art Gallery, Dawson Street, Dublin.
Carmel’s solo exhibition at the Lahinch Art Gallery opened this week and will continue its run until November 16.