Art work goes on exhibition in Castlerea
The multi-faceted artworks on display are the creative output of the learners on the Level 5 Art course offered at the FET Centre, Castlerea.
A fantastic exhibition of artworks was hosted last week by the GRETB at its Further Education and Training (FET) Centre in Castlerea. The multi-faceted artworks on display are the creative output of the learners on the Level 5 art course offered at the centre.
With 17 individual bodies of work, mainly multi-media installations, this exhibition is a rich visual experience. All of the works are of a very high aesthetic quality and are powerfully infused with the artists’ own lived experiences and concerns. With themes that include vulnerability, loss, loneliness, feminism, displacement, animal welfare, identity, connection, joy, and hope, the artworks are thought-provoking and absorbing. Each piece captivates the viewer via the imaginative use of a wide range of media, including re-purposed and recycled materials. Light and sound are used to great effect. Brightly coloured pieces sit alongside monochrome works, including white plaster cast, to evoke different concepts and ideas. Each artwork is helpfully accompanied by a printed artist statement which gives context and insight into the work and the artist’s vision.
With artworks of outstanding artistic merit, the exhibition is a testament to the quality of the training course itself, as well as the inherent creative talent of the artists.
Course teacher Mary Duignan, herself an artist specialising in sculpture, describes the aim of the course as fostering the individual artistic identity of the learners. Creativity and consideration are applied by her to designing working briefs for the learners that are stimulating and challenging. This approach to learning clearly works well, given the excellent range and diversity of the art in this exhibition.
In light of recent research which confirms scientifically the life-enhancing value of engaging with art, there is an opportunity here, worthy of exploration, to showcase this exhibition again for further public viewing and for the enjoyment and inspiration it would bring to a wider audience.
•Mary Flanagan is a regular contributor to VAN - Visual Artists Ireland Newsletter
