Next Wednesday March 11th the Atrium Gallery at the Backstage Theatre sees the launch of the first professional solo exhibition by the latest artist to emerge in Longford, Gerard Keaveney.
Gerard first came to public prominence when his strikingly original work drew a lot of favourable public comment at last year’s Engage Exhibition in the old Providers Building. Since then Gerard has been working intensively on an entire body of work for his first solo exhibition.
Originally from Longford, Gerard studied fine art at the Institute of Technology in Sligo from where he graduated with an honours BA. Since graduation Gerard has based himself in Carrick on Shannon and currently has a studio residency in the Dock Arts Centre.
As the father of the three year old son and a committed family man his work is inspired by and reflects the day-to-day activities of his family. Just watching Tom and Gerry cartoons with his son provides both the inspiration and indeed two of the characters featured in one of his works.
County Arts Officer Fergus Kennedy observed that: “in many respects the work of Gerard Keaveney is a breath of fresh air, as many artists, particularly young emerging artists feel that if their work is to have a narrative it must concern itself with lofty themes and attempts to answer the great unanswered and possibly unanswerable questions of life.
Gerard Kearney, on the other hand, concerns himself with the ordinary, apparently inconsequential, details of daily family life but perhaps in so doing he is achieving exactly what James Joyce achieved in Ulysses – demonstrating the epic in the ordinary.”
The Gerard Keaveney exhibition is the latest in a series of Emerging Artists Exhibitions organised jointly by the Atrium Gallery and the County Arts Office.
The exhibition of fresh and exciting work will be launched on Wednesday March 11th at 8.00pm in the Atrium Gallery Backstage Theatre Longford. Anyone with an interest in the work of a new and exciting talent should come long as should anyone with an interest in supporting a vibrant visual arts community in Longford.
