The first in a series of art talks called The Sunday Edition took place in the Dean Hotel in Dublin last Sunday. Brainchild of designer, curator and mural artist, James Earley, the aim of the talks is give “an insight into the work ethic and inspiration that drives some of Irelands best contemporary artists practicing in this country today”. Earley explained before the event that “the first talk in the series plans to educate and excite the public on established and emerging Irish artists”. Two artists, both part of the online gallery run by Earley called Iverna, were presented to an intimate crowd of approximately 50 people and in turn spoke openly about their fascinatingly different approaches to their art.
First up is “Le Bas”, a mural artists and trained architect (a college course he hated), whose unique style can be seen around Dublin’s streets. Le Bas is his own harshest critic, dismissively talking the audience through his development of style and career to date. He presents us with a fascinating insight to his psyche and spends much time discussing the struggle to create original art. Throughout the slideshow of photographs Le Bas impresses with his truly original style that combines various mediums using both computer and many types of paints across walls, canvasses and even aluminum. To hear an artist speak so candidly about his work is as refreshing as it is interesting. Regardless of his personal dislike for his own back catalogue there is no doubting his distinctive talent.
Colm Mac Athlaoich begins his presentation but asking the room to pronounce his name properly, something “even my friends still struggle with”. (It’s co-lum mac-ah-leeok for the record). He approaches the talk from a philosophical viewpoint looking at what art means to him and explaining how he approaches both personal work and commissioned art. We are given a look through his notebooks, both old and new, covered with everything from beautiful pencil-drawn sketches from a trip northern Italy to every-day shopping lists. Album covers for baroque bands, personal commissions for fans, large installations for Celtic Tiger hotel groups, public paintings in Temple Bar and more – Mac Athlaoich’s portfolio is both very intriguing and varied. He is a calm and easy presence at the front of the room and his confident nature juxtaposes with the previous speaker.
We spoke to Earley after the event and he was pleased with the day as a whole; “For a first event, it couldn’t have gone better, we were really happy with how it went. The event sold out and the speakers gave inspiring, informative talks to an engaged and very responsive audience”. He spoke about the future of the series: “The series will be a regular occurrence, every 2-3 months and will focus on Iverna’s stable of artists. The venue of The Dean Hotel will be a constant as well as the scheduling on a Sunday afternoon. At the moment its all about continuing to build public awareness of the arts and maintaining a high standard to the talks. Exciting times ahead!”
Words and photos by Mark Earley
For more info visit Iverna’s website and Instagram.
