Launches on Saturday 30th September at 4pm with an Artists in Conversation event with Jane Murtagh and Carole Nelson, facilitated by Catherine Marshall followed by the official launch. All welcome.
Upstairs in glór Gallery │ Runs until Saturday 28th October
Since childhood, Metal Sculptor Jane Murtagh has experienced a ‘confusion’ of senses, later referred to as synaesthesia. Music is the background voice to the artist’s life and contemporary jazz the idiom through which much of her work has been realised. For this exhibition Jane has delved into and been inspired by the compositions of the jazz musician and composer Carole Nelson. Carole will join Jane for an Artists in Conversation event about their individual work practices and inspirations.
Synaesthesia is central to the work of Kandinsky and Jane spent time researching Kandinsky’s work, leading her to create a body of work which is bold and ambitious in scale, opening new possibilities to viewers and encouraging us to explore the boundaries of our perceptions.
Murtagh’s sculptures have a subtle presence. They are quiet reflective pieces with deep roots in the natural world, and being made of metal, they change according to the light. In her work, Murtagh considers elements that are easily overlooked: musical notations; the texture of bark; the intricate details of lichen and moss, and for this exhibition Jane has created a series of large-scale drawings to accompany the sculptures.
Jane Murtagh
Jane Murtagh is an Irish Artist Metalsmith. A graduate in Fine Art from Dunlaoghaire School of Art and Design 1979. Jane has attended master classes at West Dean College, UK and Central St Martins in the patination of metals and drawing. She works with non-ferrous metals using the techniques of repousse, forging, etching and gilding to create one-off relief sculptural panels. She works to commission and exhibition and has work in national and international public and private collections. Ethnobotany, botany, microscopic details in the landscape and music all form inspiration in her work. For 30 years Jane has been a regular exhibitor with Sculpture in Context, The Hamilton Gallery Sligo, glór Arts Centre Ennis, The Custom Gallery Westport, and The Blue Egg Wexford. Jane was selected for the recent 2023 RHA Annual Exhibition. A new body of large drawings are to be included in her upcoming show in glór in October 2023 alongside works in metal. The jazz compositions that have inspired these works will be included in the exhibition.
‘I love metal: the smell and the feel, the torch lighting up, the first blow of the hammer. A lifelong interest in ethnobotany and biology has inspired a research process towards developing a visual narrative delivered through metal.’
