Following the launch of London Irish Art 2015, artist Brian Whelan reflects on Ireland’s legacy in the visual arts with an eye firmly on its future
Sol Art Gallery from Dublin initiated an exhibition at Central Hall Westminster in London this week, opened by the Irish ambassador Dan Mulhall, the Minister for the Diaspora Jimmy Deenihan and leading Manchester Irish artist Hughie O’Donoghue.
A very large and enthusiastic crowd enjoyed more than 100 works in two large rooms with pieces by almost 50 artists.
Whilst the evening was a celebration of Irish art to be found on both sides of the Irish Sea, the viewers came from all over the world.
The appreciative crowd enjoyed paintings, sculpture, and even an installation by David Blackmore, who incidentally won the prize of the evening of £2,000 and said the money was going towards paying his college fees.
Irish music, dance, poetry, literature are all well known around the world, but Irish visual arts less so. This exhibition, the second initiative in recent years, comes following the Quiet Men exhibition in 2009 opened by journalist Fergal Keane and which opened the door to a much neglected area of Irish creativity.
Martin Davis, who masterminded London Irish Art 2015 said it was such a success that Sol Art intends to do it again next year and build on what had been achieved.
As a London Irish artist myself I have often been intrigued by the fact that Ireland is one of the few countries that does not have a great internationally recognised master of the visual arts to represent it.
There are many great artists from Ireland but it has never produced a Picasso, an Andy Warhol, a Monet, a Michaelangelo, a Goya or a Munch.
The reasons are complex and even stem as far back as the reformation – when the visual arts in the churches were destroyed in the name of religious doctrine.
More recently Ireland has struggled with a dynamic forum to thrash out ideas and a too small art buying Irish public that struggles to support emerging talent resulting in many artists, for example international artist Sean Scully, going abroad.
This exhibition acknowledges those facts and has included the extraordinary achievements of the Diaspora.
The show demonstrates that Irish visual art, in all the disciplines, is alive and well in the four corners of the world.
Sol Art has brought the brightest and the best into two beautiful rooms and made it easy for us to appreciate. The future looks good.
Brian Whelan grew up in London of Irish parents. He has lived and worked in the East Anglia area of England for over 25 years and now splits his time between the US, Britain and Ireland.
See www.brianwhelan.co.uk for more details.
