previous exhibition ....

May 10th - 28th

New Paintings
Tom Climent, Aidan Crotty & Stephen Lawlor

An exhibition of New Paintings by Tom Climent, Aidan Crotty and Stephen Lawlor will open at the Lavit Gallery on Tuesday  May 10th. 

Tom Climent's most recent works are more architectural than   previous ones, but still contain the elusive abstract qualities which have characterised his work.    A lighter use of paint and an interest in mood is evident in this new series. He is interested in the idea of a shell, a simple structure and uses the following quote from  the philosopher Bachelard to remind us of our feelings towards these places - "When we are lost in darkness and see a distant glimmer of light, who does not dream of a thatched cottage or, to go more deeply still into legend, of a hermit's hut." Cork artist Tom Climent graduated from Crawford College of Art and Design in 1995. Recent solo exhibitions have included the South Tipperary Arts Centre, The Hunt Museum, Limerick, The Fenton Gallery, Cork and Kevin Kavanagh Gallery Dublin.

 

While Climent's work leads us to places in the distance, Aidan Crotty's work often takes us in closer- looking outside from within or looking directly into a disused site. He is drawn to solitary subjects that seem long detached from social function. His paintings are observed from both life and memory. While focusing  on subjects not commonly depicted in paintings, Crotty still manages to bring a romance to this world, creating a quiet, mysterious but unthreatening environment. Originally from Co. Waterford, Aidan Crotty graduated from the Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork in 2004 and has been living in West Sligo since 2005. Recent solo exhibitions have been held at the Paul Kane Gallery, Dublin and the Sligo Art Gallery, while Crotty has also been an invited artist at the RHA annual exhibition, 2010, CASe 2010 and the Eigse exhibition in Carlow, 2009. 

 

The paint is immediately to the fore in Stephen Lawlor's paintings which at first reading seem ambiguous, but slowly reveal themselves. Brian McAvera says  that Lawlor's paintings "replicate the sense of the eye flicking backwards and forwards, upwards and downwards, as one walks across a landscape, while registering unexpected hues." If Climent's paintings look towards, Crotty's look inside and outside, Lawlor's paintings are in the midst of the landscape. The small scale of these paintings emphasises the energy and exuberence of the paint. Dublin based, Stephen Lawlor has predominantly been known as a printmaker, lecturing in life drawing and printmaking in Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design for a number of years while also serving as chairperson of the Graphic Studios Dublin for four years. Recent solo painting exhibitions have been at the Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin, Fred, London, Galleri Astley Sweden and Hillsboro Fine Art, Dublin.

This exhibition will be opened by Julian Campbell, art historian on May 10th at 8.00p.m. and will continue until May 28th.