THE
CILL RIALAIG PROJECT
International
Artists’ Residency
Program
Ballinskelligs, County Kerry, Ireland
Willie
Marlowe
During July 1-14, 2005, I was a
resident at The Cill Rialaig Project. This time was
a remarkable and important experience for me as a
painter. It was a rare privilege to be a resident artist
in a setting where the landscape and elements dominate.
The
project, initiated and directed by Noelle Campbell-Sharp
of Dublin, is an international retreat for artists,
writers, poets, and composers . It is located on a high
rocky cliff on the end of the Iveragh peninsula in a
partially restored pre-famine village (c. 1790). It is
a work in progress and so far, six stone cottages have
been restored.
When I was there, the other five artists
were from Argentina, England, Germany, Ireland, and
Italy. I was attracted to apply for a residency because
of the possibility for solitary studio time in a remote
setting rich in archaeological sites. I worked from standing
stones, stone alignments, and stone circles.
Over the
past seven years, I have been developing a body of
work inspired by travels in Ireland . This was my third
trip. I was first there in 1998 when I was a visiting
artist and had a ten year retrospective show at the Wexford
Arts Centre. This exhibition, curated by Denis Collins,
also traveled to the Courthouse Centre Gallery, Tinahealy
in County Wicklow. Paintings were later included in
a two artists’ show and
in other curated shows in Wexford and Dublin. My work
is included in the collection of The Wexford Art Centre.
In 2001, I returned to Dublin when I taught a watercolor
class for The Sage Colleges’ International Studies
Program, ‘’Celtic Connections’’.
We were based on the campus of Trinity College.
These
times of being in Ireland have had a strong influence
on my work and have resulted in a series of paintings
based on archaeological subjects, landscape imagery,
and Celtic legends. A selection of these paintings
will be shown in September 2005 at the Martinez Gallery
in Troy, New York. Laudelina Martinez curated the show
and choose over twenty small paintings on paper.
A
summer grant and travel funds from The Sage Colleges
made it possible for me to take advantage of
this very special opportunity to be a resident artist
at The Cill Rialaig Project.
Dreaming Irish
September 17 - November 15,
2005
Curated by Laudelina Martinez, Director
The Martinez Gallery
3 Broadway
Troy , New York 12180 USA
518.274.9377
www.martinezgallery.net
|
