NOËL O’CALLAGHAN | Reasons to be Cheerful
NOËL O’CALLAGHAN
Reasons to be Cheerful
Reasons to be Cheerful is an exhibition oil paintings and watercolours by Noël O'Callaghan, inspired by the landscape and the artist’s relationship with this subject. There are also a number of self-portraits included.
Many of the works in the exhibition have evolved over a long period of time. Some began in a Mayo bog in the late 90s, were worked on in her studio in Berlin over the next twenty years and were further worked on up to recently in her West Cork studio. Despite the long incubation period, the paintings still have a spontaneity and lightness of touch. Other paintings were faster in their completion. The examples presented from the self-portrait series were painted in one sitting three to six hours and were made on a significant dates such as birthdays, Christmas or New Year. The surface values are an important element in the artist’s work. Brushstrokes are in evidence and layers range from the unpainted canvas to thick impasto passages.
One of O'Callaghan’s favourite artists, Edvard Munch, wrote in his diary in January 1892 “I felt a great scream through nature”. In the late 19th century, when industrial development began to impact greatly upon the landscape and lives of people, alienation became a subject for art and literature. The works in the exhibition ‘Reasons to be Cheerful’ engage with contemporary feelings of alienation. Moments of lyrical intensity, where we are carried out of ourselves in relation to nature or the ‘other’ also carry sadness in that we instinctively recognise the transience of all things including ourselves. These works are about the rawness of such moments, not primarily about the scene, but rather expressing the energy or mood of these encounters with nature.
Noël O'Callaghan acknowledges that today, nature is in many ways damaged and our relationship with it is strained. We have a need to re-affirm this relationship but at the same time we are often undermining it. For example, urban dwellers wishing to enjoy nature often have to use polluting means to reach it. When they get there, photos taken can be shot off into the aether and immediately viewed by someone else on the other side of the world, and are often more important than the actual experience of being in nature, except for dogs and other animals, who, in the artists paintings, engage with the much sought after ‘now moment’ thus transcending any alienation.
The title of the exhibition can be taken both as ironic and sincere. To experience intensity and express it artistically is a reason to be cheerful in a time when there are so few. The act of painting for Noël is an expression of joy and her paintings provide an opportunity to be cheerful, even if it is a second-hand experience of a moment. The act of experiencing art creates a different kind of moment but it can also be a joy, just like being in nature.
Images
NOËL O’CALLAGHAN | Reasons to be Chee...
Date and Time
Thursday Jun 19, 2025 Saturday Jul 12, 2025
Opening reception Thursday 19 June, 5.30-7.30pm, featuring canapes by Orla McAndrew Food (served 5.30pm) and wines selected and presented by John Passmore, Bubble Brothers.
Artist talk and exhibition tour Saturday 28 June, 12pm
Location
Lavit Gallery, Wandesford Quay, Clarke's Bridge, Cork, T12 E26D
Fees/Admission
Free
Contact Information
Brian Mac Domhnaill
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