Although it was a hike to get there, a visit to Farmleigh House Gallery last week was a worthwhile delight. The Gallery is divided into two separate spaces, both of which were curated by Mark St John Ellis as a sister exhibition to the one I had seen a few weeks ago at Rathfarnham Castle, and blogged about here. As such I viewed the exhibitions as related, and thought of the similarities and differences between the two installations. While Farmleigh House is a historical building (also worth a visit), the gallery is contained in a completely renovated outbuilding, so it is a modern space. The intimacy of the two gallery spaces is pronounced by the dim ambient lighting (this photo has compensated for the dimness) and spotlighting of individual artworks.
Unfortunately there was no catalogue available for Gallery 1 on the day I went, but I was able to get some information, with a quick google search, from nag gallery's website here.
I was most interested in seeing the State Collection ceramics and recognised the work of Katharine West.
I specifically loved this ceramic vessel sculpture, which seemed like it had a gashed tire around its rim (this is, however, totally ceramic).
The interior glazing and spiral movement definitely made me think of a dizzying fall into the void.
As each work had its own spotlight in the dim room, it was easy to focus on the individual pieces, yet a work could always be viewed in relation to at least one other piece.
Noting the expanded clay technique of texturing this work, I knew there was a lightweightness to it despite its size. Another friend referred to this piece as a "hornet's nest" and its organic quality is a tactile pleasure for the eyes.
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