Dublin Gallery Hot For New Artists

Two Kerry based artists opened an exhibition in Gallery 53 in Dublin at 53 Capel Street on a recent Wednesday evening.

Gallery 53, which celebrated its first Anniversary on the Tuesday before the opening, hosted a collaborate exhibition of work by Kerry native, Eileen Kennedy, and Dublin born, but Tralee based, Maureen O' Mahony. The exhibition was opened by Fine Gael TD, Jimmy Deenihan, spokesperson for Arts, Sports & Tourism

The show, which includes a number of oil paintings as well as original print work, was a fantastic success with Gallery Owner, Louise Cody, saying, "It was the perfect way to celebrate our first birthday. The opening was wonderfully successful, we had a huge turnout and sales were brisk, which is always nice!"

Maureen, who is a self taught artist, has a life long passion for art. Working mainly in oils, she has developed her skill considerably over the past seven years and as she says, she is inspired by "the soft focus of the old masters and their ability to convey so much through light and shadow."

Since finishing college in 1984, Eileen Kennedy has been oil painting at her home in Tralee, where she has opened her own studio. In more recent years she has become involved in the art of print making.

Louise, though not from Kerry herself, has a life long association with the Kingdom. "We used to visit Glenbeigh every summer and I have fond memories of eating in Evan's Hotel. I love Kerry and Kerry people especially Jimmy Deenihan who is a fantastic speaker and did an amazing job of opening the exhibition and of presenting Kerry as a hot bed of the Arts," laughs Louise.

In fact Louise is so enamored with Kerry that the next exhibition which opens in Gallery 53 will also feature a Kerry based artist, Syra Larkin, who lives in the beautiful Maherees. Syra's exhibition will open on May 10th and run through to the first weekend in June.

The current exhibition runs until May 1st 2007. For more information please call Louise Cody on 01 872 4274 or 086 326 0118.