Tag Archives: Courthouse Kinvara

AN EVENING of painting and poetry is in store at the Courthouse, Kinvara, as artist Belinda Duetinger launches a new exhibition on Friday, October 28. The show, entitled ‘Der kleine Laden um die Ecke’ or ‘Little shop around the corner’ will showcase what Belinda described as a snapshot of her art, “dreamy watercolour landscapes, delicate florals, nature in all shapes and forms are featured next to surreal oil and acrylic paintings”. “I always try to see the beauty in things,” said Belinda. “We should never lose sight of what the world has to offer, that amongst all the bad news, rising costs, housing crisis, greed, environmental issues, our own personal struggles, there is so much to live for.” The launch will feature the poetry of Belinda’s husband, Nathy Gillard, a Mayo native, who will do a reading on the night.  Belinda, a Kinvara Area Visual Arts (KAVA) member graduated from GMIT in 2009 with a BA in Fine Art. She …

WAKING up to the beauty of nature is the theme of a new exhibition that will open in Kinvara next week.  The show by artist Nicole O’Donnell is entitled ‘Awakening’ and will run at the Courthouse, in conjunction with Kinvara Area Visual Arts (KAVA) from October 20 to 26. Nicole is a Galway-based artist who has a Masters Degree in Creative Practice and an Honours BA in Contemporary Art, from the School of Design and Creative Arts, at the Atlantic Technological University (ATU).  “As a visual artist who grew up in the West of Ireland, my practice is influenced by the wilderness of the Irish landscape, daily observations and the natural world to create imaginative landscape paintings that deal with themes of experience of place, memory and are inspired by the endless complexity found in nature,” Nicole explained. She added that her solo show, ‘Awakening’, “means “an act or moment of becoming suddenly aware of something”. “This collection of works …

TEXTILES inspired by summer days in the South of Italy will bring some welcome sunshine to Kinvara this month, in a new exhibition at the Courthouse. Kinvara Area Visual Arts (KAVA) presents ‘Vitae Rurale’ by Isabella Florio. This ten-day exhibition will open on Friday next, October 7.  Isabella is an Italian designer and textile artist who completed her honours BA in Design at the Atlantic Technological University (ATU) earlier this year. She first became interested in art and design as a young child, a hobby she also enjoyed throughout her teenage years. After secondary school, she chose to pursue a creative career, moving to Dublin in 2016 to join The Grafton Academy, where she studied Fashion Design for over a year. Here, Isabella gained skills in pattern drafting and garment construction. After deciding to expand her knowledge and explore a new avenue of education, she enrolled in ATU to study Fashion and Textile Design. Her work there was centred around …

SISTERS Susan Campbell and Paula Hickey will illuminate their practice as visual artists with an exciting ‘cyanotype’ workshop at the Courthouse in Kinvara later this month.  Ahead of the launch of their joint exhibition entitled ‘Twofold’, the acclaimed artists will discuss their creative practice and invite others to experiment with this ancient photographic technique. A workshop on Thursday, August 25, from 3pm to 5.30pm will demonstrate the process of cyanotype making. Cyanotype is a centuries-old photographic printing process that creates images in distinctive shades of dark green-blue.  At the Kinvara event, Susan and Paula will demonstrate a new and exciting technique to harness cyanotype as a means of capturing water in flow. The creation of the cyanotypes will involve a process whereby a light-sensitive solution, used to coat a support – such as paper – reacts to whatever is placed on its surface. These experimental techniques exploit its reactive properties and register water in different states of flow. The workshop …

THE beautiful land and seascapes of south Galway provide the inspiration for an exhibition of paintings at the old Courthouse in Kinvara running this week. KAVA (Kinvara & Area Visual Artists) is presenting a solo exhibition of Mavis Gormally’s paintings entitled, Path to Home, that will be available to view up to Sunday, July 24. Mavis is showing over 40 paintings depicting the idyllic landscapes, heritage sites and seascape scenes of Gort, Kinvara, and the surrounding area. Among her subjects Mavis has captured Thor Ballylee, The Gort River Walk, Coole Park, and the Pier in Kinvara. Since before moving from NYC to Ireland in 2003, Mavis has shared her knowledge and love for art. A fine artist and painting tutor, Mavis enjoys sharing her passion for art through teaching painting in the locality. She currently tutors pre-teens, teenagers, and adults in her home studio as well as clients of the Gort Cancer Support Centre in Holly Blue House.  The artist …

KAVA presents a solo exhibition of paintings by Mavis Gormally from July 15 to 24 at the Courthouse Gallery in Kinvara. An official launch for Path to Home takes place on Friday, July 15, at 7.30pm and all are welcome.  More than 30 paintings will be on display, depicting landscapes, heritage sites, and seascape scenes of the Gort, Kinvara, and surrounding areas.  A fine artist and painting tutor, Mavis enjoys sharing her passion for art through teaching painting in the locality. She currently teaches pre-teens, teens, and adults from her home studio and has been sharing her knowledge and love for art in this way since before she moved to Ireland.  Mavis was born in New York City, raised on Long Island, and relocated to Gort in 2003. Though moving from New York to Gort was a big change, Mavis has found great inspiration for her subject matter, the landscape, in the rural surrounds. This body of work was executed during the …

‘PAINTING is a Treasure’ is the title of the upcoming solo exhibition, by Carmel Daly which opens at the start of next month at the Courthouse Gallery in Kinvara. Carmel’s motto and philosophy is that “painting is a treasure and a pleasure,” and it is and adage she has lived by. Carmel is a visual artist, born in Galway and living locally. Her work is mainly representative of everyday life and scenes which she paints in vibrant colours. Her work is inspired by the beauty of the Burren, from observing rural pastures and pastimes, and people at their work and leisure. Well known in the Banner, Carmel is a former librarian with Clare County Libraries. She has facilitated access and provision for arts and creativity. Carmel helped to implement library policy to support community and cultural organisations, as well as promoting cultural events in Ennis and Shannon Libraries. Believing in access and provision of information, education and recreation, Carmel encouraged arts and …

SOCIAL media and its psychological impact are the themes of an exciting new exhibition which will run at the Courthouse in Kinvara until early next month. The show by Mark Keaveney is entitled ‘My Social Bubble’ and contains a number of innovative digital art pieces. The young Roscommon native’s work was spotted during the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) end-of-year show by Pam Fleming, chairperson of Kinvara Area Visual Arts (KAVA). After Mark accepted the invitation to exhibit, KAVA came together with Kinvara Alive, a local organisation promoting mental health, to respond to the themes raised in the artwork. “Because of the effects of too much social media on mental health, Kinvara Alive (a local group promoting well-being and mental health) is going to collaborate with KAVA on the exhibition,” Pam outlined. Kinvara Alive will have literature available on training and a range of mental health supports for the duration of the exhibition. “The exploration of the psychological effects …