An exhibition of new paintings by one of Ireland’s leading abstract painters, Richard Gorman, opens on Thursday night (8th May) at the MAC, alongside new works by Kildare-based artist Susan Connolly.

Entitled ‘KIN’, Richard Gorman’s work was produced in his Milan studio and will go on display to the public in the MAC’s Tall and Upper Galleries from Friday, 9th May. Richard Gorman has been regularly exhibiting across the world since the 1980s, with his paintings being enjoyed from Dublin and London to Milan and Tokyo. Recent international exhibitions have included solo shows at Mitaka City Gallery of Art in Japan, while he has also participated in group shows at Der Spiegel Galerie in Cologne and at the Berkeley Art Museum in California.

Born in Dublin, painter Gorman has spent the past 20 years refining his vision and fluency in paint. He insists that his paintings mean no more or no less than what they are. He asks viewers to simply stand before his work and experience the pleasure of shape, line, colour, texture and scale.

For his new exhibition at the MAC he has created a series of 10 new paintings as well as new works on paper which have been made in Japan and have been created specifically for the MAC gallery spaces.

Speaking ahead of his exhibition at the MAC, Richard Gorman said: “I paint alone in my studio where I solve problems that did not exist until I began painting. A painting is not a message to anyone – it may not tell a story, it may not even represent an idea. It means only that it signifies what I spend my time doing, it is the outcome of that process of making and remaking on the flat surface in search of a precarious balance.”

Also launching on the same night in the MAC’s sunken gallery, is a series of new works by artist Susan Connolly which explore the physical quality of paint and our understanding of contemporary painting. ‘Something About Some Thing To Do With Paint’ will be exhibited in the MAC until 22nd June and offers visitors the chance to question what their understanding is of ‘traditional’ painting, as they experience these artworks that protrude and project into the gallery’s physical space.

Susan says of her practice: “Most of my studio work comes from time spent looking; considering and questioning much of what I see, read or experience in relation to making objects. I think it is a very exciting time to be thinking about painting, with all the rhetoric of ‘death’ within the medium.”

Curating both exhibitions at the MAC, Hugh Mulholland, said:

”Following on from our highly successful Kara Walker exhibition, the MAC’s artistic programme is changing once again this time to focus on the practice of painting by two of Ireland’s most exciting contemporary painters.

“Richard’s large-scale canvases and works on paper, will draw the viewer in with his bold use of colour, geometry and fluency in his art that has earned him international acclaim. While Susan’s series of paintings quite literally come off the wall with their scuffed, scratched and beaten surfaces telling stories from within the process of painting.”

Both of the exhibitions are free of charge, an illustrated exhibition guide with commissioned essays will be available to visitors (priced £1).

Also taking place at the MAC to coincide with the exhibition is a special painting symposium for paint practicitioners and students on Saturday 21 June that will address the diversity of approaches within contemporary painting practice today.

The Metropolitan Arts Centre

10 Exchange Street West
Belfast BT1 2NJ United Kingdom
Ph. +44 (0)28 90235053
themac@stakeholdergroup.com
www.themaclive.com

Opening hours

Daily from 10am to 7pm

Related images

1 Hugh Mullholland, MAC Curator pictured with Kildare-based artist, Susan Connolly, at the launch of her exhibition at the MAC
2 & 3 Hugh Mullholland, MAC Curator pictured with one of Ireland’s leading abstract painters, Richard Gorman, at the launch of his exhibition of new paintings at the MAC
4 & 5 Richard Gorman, Caoimhín MacGiolla Leith, Richard Gorman exhibition catalogue, published by Kerlin Gallery, Dublin, 1995Images: Gouache works on handmade kozo washi paper, 63 x 49cm, 2014
6 Richard Gorman, John Brown, Tjibbe Hooghiemstra works on paper with Poems by John Brown, published by Fenderesky Gallery, Belfast,2002, Images: Gouache works on handmade kozo washi paper, 63 x 49cm, 2014