On the 35th of May, 1931, Conrad and his uncle Ringel stepped into the wardrobe to discover the exciting world hidden, mostly, in Conrad’s imagination.
In 2021, during COVID19 lockdown, a group of Clare-based artists were invited by glór’s Curator in Residence to discover Erich Kästner’s The 35th of May, or Conrad’s Ride to the South Seas on its 90thanniversary. This online reading was a meeting place to talk about real and fantastical ideas, get inspired and inspire others.
In 2022, glór is delighted to showcase six artists’ creative responses to the book and the group’s discussions. Sometimes colourful, sometimes dark, the artwork brings our world together with the book’s fantastical world and its heroes: a boy, his uncle, and the roller-skating horse Negro Caballo.
Artists participating in the exhibition are Ana Colomer, Rachel Macmanus, Will O’Kane, Katya Polezhaeva, Noreen Ramsay and Evelyn Sorohan.
This exhibition has been curated by Curator Moran Been-noon.
An In-Conversation event as part of this exhibition with Prof. Gisela Holfter of the Centre of Irish-German Studies (CIGS) at UL, along with participating artists Noreen Ramsay and Katya Polezhaeva will take place on Saturday 9th of April at 10.30am. All welcome but pre-booking encouraged HERE.
Image (Above): Detail of Negro Caballo by Katya Polezhaeva
Image (Below): Detail of Edward The Confessor by Rachel Macmanus
Prof Gisela Holfter In Conversation with participating artists Noreen Ramsay and Katya Polezhaeva on Saturday 9th April at 10.30am – All welcome but pre-booking encouraged HERE.
Prof. Gisela Holfter (MA Washington University, St. Louis, PhD University of Cologne) is Director and co-founder of the Centre for Irish-German Studies at the University of Limerick (for more information on the Centre see https://ulsites.ul.ie/irishgerman/). She has held teaching appointments at the Universities of Cologne and Otago, NZ, and was appointed to a Lectureship at the University of Limerick in 1996. Her research interests lie in Irish-German relations, German literature in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, exile studies and intercultural communication.
Noreen Ramsay is an Irish visual artist who graduated from Limerick School of Art and Design in 2001. Based in her studio in Co Clare she works primarily with porcelain, which may be combined with fired sheets of glass. The venture into paper-based work using vivid colour is a new departure for her inspired by her participation in the reading group and the wild imaginative adventure of the 35th May story.
Katya Polezhaeva is a freelance illustrator, currently based in the west of Ireland. She believes that images are incredibly powerful at telling stories. In her work, Katya uses visual language for interpreting narratives and bringing stories to life. She is particularly interested in themes related to social issues, psychology and mental health. Katya creates using digital techniques, analogue drawing, and printmaking.
