Final chance to visit two Luan Gallery exhibitions
This weekend presents the last chance to see two exhibitions ending soon at Luan Gallery.
Heart and Soul, Portraits of Irish Musicians is a solo exhibition of portraiture paintings by Athlone artist Claire Guinan, while Connections is an exhibition of over 60 contemporary artworks from the OPW State Art Collection and the Northern Ireland Civil Service Collection. Both exhibitions run until Sunday, April 6
Heart and Soul, Portraits of Irish Musicians, is an exhibition in the Boardwalk Gallery, and a tribute to the icons of Ireland’s music scene, each captured in Claire’s distinctive style. The exhibition features portraits of renowned musicians, whom Claire personally met and photographed, with the exception of Phil Lynott. For Lynott, Claire used reference photographs graciously provided by his mother, Philomena. Working across various mediums including oils, pencils, watercolours, and precious metals, Claire’s subjects range from portraiture to nature, but all share a common thread—an enduring connection to music and poetry.
Claire Guinan is an Irish contemporary multi-disciplinary artist from Athlone. She holds an Honours Degree in Fine Art from Limerick School of Design and a Master’s in Cultural Policy and Arts Management from University College Dublin. Growing up in an environment rich with art, music, and poetry, Claire’s work reflects these influences. Whether through her paintings or her intricate jewellery pieces, Claire draws inspiration from the way music and poetry stir memories, evoke emotions, and shape our lives
Connections, a cross-border exhibition of contemporary art from the OPW State Art Collection and the Northern Ireland Civil Service Collection, explores the theme of connections – the ways in which artworks relate to each other linking and joining ideas and themes. This exhibition illustrates work in painting, photographs, prints and sculpture. The exhibition features over 60 artworks by a range of Irish artists.
Since the late 1990s, the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the Department of Finance, Northern Ireland (DoF) have worked in partnership organising an annual touring art exhibition which showcases artworks from the two public-owned collections in venues across the island under changing themes.
Featured artists include: Neisha Allen, Elisabeth Banim, Alicia Boyle, Sara Brown, Cecilia Bullo, Ursula Burke, Sam Byrne, Maud Cotter, Erin Cummins, Samuel Laurence Cunnane, Gerry Davis, Rita Duffy, Cara Dunne, Esko, Martin Gale, Cara Gribben, Noel Hensey, Diane Henshaw, Carol Hodder, Dee Hurley, Myra Jago, Desmond Kenny, Neil Kerr, Roisin Lambert, Melanie le Brocquy, Cristín Leach, Alison Lowry, Eva Lynch, Alan Magee, Ciaran Magill, Mervyn Marshall, Trevor McElnea, Valerie Giannandrea McKeag, Cian McLoughlin, Josie McMorrin, Grace McMurray, Tadhg McSweeney, Simon McWilliams, Andrew Nally, Peter Neill, Sorche Ní Ríain, Veronica Nicholson, David Otruba, Jack Pakenham, Michael Power, Jane Prendergast, Selena Quilligan, Gail Ritchie, Stuart A. Robinson, Katherine Sankey, Matthew Smyth, Elizabeth Taggart, Lucy Turner, Peter B. Waddell, Samuel Walsh, Minghui Wang, Catherine Ward, Dianne Whyte, Lena Willryd, Alice Wyatt