Something of the Night paintings and a sculptural installation by
Mary Noonan and Peter Burns
From 2 November – 29 November 2012
Official opening 2 November at 8 pm
Peter Burns makes paintings and objects in a variety of materials. The paintings have sculptural elements and the objects are strongly linked to the practice of painting.
Peter says about his work: ‘I have a very tactile and experimental approach to my work. In the paintings chunks of old dried oil paint are often attached to the canvas while in other areas paint is scraped off to reveal underlying layers. The objects are made using ephemeral materials such as wax combined with found objects. They are painted, small in scale and often fragile. In the paintings people are shown in relation to nature and the universe. Small figures and animals exist and roam in painted worlds. I make sculptures of heads defined by their individual personalities. Other objects play with scale and have elements of landscape. The inspiration for these works originates in my interest in literature, art history, myth and allegory amongst other things’.
His work has been described as rhizomatic, suggesting an organic practice, growing through a gradual accumulation of marks and taking myriad forms, producing works without a definite beginning or end.
Mary Noonan employs a variety of working methods, though most of her work is drawing based. The body of work she shows in the Courthouse Gallery comes from research into Irish folklore and superstition relating to “fairy-faith”, particularly from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The materials and processes she uses such as tearing and cutting the paper become a metaphor for psychological aspects of uncovered narrative. The work is informed by the uncanny and, explores varied themes including myth, allegory and storytelling. It forms a continuous dialogue referencing not only past work but also memory, place and mortality. November traditionally seen as the month of the dead provides the backdrop for the work shown in this exhibition.