• the arts column: January 9th

    January 9, 2019 - By 

    For our first edition of the arts column in 2019 we’ve details on an international residency, a national residency, a career opportunity as well as a trio of exhibitions that are opening this week and feature a mix of emerging and established artists – details of all below. If you have an event, talk, exhibition, or would like to recommend one please get in touch via aidan[at]thethinair.net Open Call | TBG+S and HIAP International Residency Exchange 2019 Temple Bar Gallery + Studios (TGB+S) have announced details of the thirteenth annual residency exchange between Ireland and Finland, due to take place later this year. The…

  • the arts column: December 11th

    December 11, 2018 - By 

    In our new weekly arts column we’ll be rounding-up some key events in the Irish art world be they exhibition opening and closings, art talks and workshops, submission deadlines and guidelines, and everything in between that fits under the arts umbrella. This week we’re looking at four shows across Ireland which are drawing to a close as we approach Christmas. Martin Healy’s The Augury @ Butler Gallery, Kilkenny This week is your last chance to catch Martin Healy’s show The Augury in Kilkenny’s Butler Gallery. The work sees Healy explore our often fraught and conflicting relationship with the natural world, with particular focus…

  • Exhibition: The Way Things Go: An Homage @ Butler Gallery

    September 26, 2017 - By 

    2017 marks the 30th anniversary of Swiss duo Peter Fischli & David Weiss’ The Way Things Go. The hugely influential video piece serves as the departure point for the latest exhibition in Kilkenny’s Butler Gallery. At it’s core The Way Things Go saw everyday items pushed outside their comfort zone to perform roles and tasks not suited for their original creation, and tasks it should be noted that they were able to fully complete, querying the limitations we impose on materials we formulate. While in full-colour and sound, the piece drew on the almost slapstick era of silent films from the vaudeville era of…

  • Exhibition: When Walking @ Butler Gallery

    July 20, 2017 - By 

    When Walking is the latest exhibition in Kilkenny’s Butler Gallery and features the work of Irish artist Eithne Jordan RHA. Jordan is currently undertaking a year long residency in Kilkenny’s Tony O’Malley Studio – established by the RHA in 2010, the studio is in the former home of influential local painter. When Walking continues Jordan’s exploration of local architecture, incorporating scenes and building styles not usually eulogised in artworks, and incorporating a gaucho technique for some pieces. Though a common vernacular exists within the local landscape, idiosyncratic features have evolved over time with each owner stamping their individuality on each building. Jordan…

  • Exhibition: Eamon O’Kane @ Butler Gallery

    June 7, 2017 - By 

    The work of Danish fairytale behemoth Hans Christian Anderson, and specifically his 1858 short story The Last Dream of an Old Oak Tree, provides the title for the latest exhibition by Irish artist Eamon O’Kane in Kilkenny’s Butler Gallery. The show, titled Does all the beauty of the world cease when you die?, features a broad range of mediums including on-site installations, print and photography, that have been combined to provide a multi-faceted and immersive exhibition. Anderson’s short story discuss the interaction between an old oak tree and a May fly. The tree feels pity for the fly as he views his ephemeral life…

  • CIRCA Art Magazine: This Matters Now

    March 16, 2017 - By 

    Tadhg O’Sullivan, still from The Great Wall, 2014, HD film, 74 min. Courtesy of the artist. The new issue of CIRCA Art Magazine’s This Matters Now series is now online. The edition features responses to recent show’s in VISUAL Carlow, Kevin Kavanagh Gallery and Butler Gallery. As well as these five texts, you can also read the previous three issues from this series, and the issues from last year’s series as well. As a repository of texts on Irish art this continues to grow and forward a vital discourse. This Matters Now can be read online here.

  • Personae @ Butler Gallery

    February 18, 2017 - By 

    Established in 1943, and growing ever since through a combination of purchases, loans and gifts, the Butler Gallery’s permanent collection is both a broad and varied collation of artistic mediums. This year’s collection presentation is entitled Personae and features pieces on loan from the permanent collection at IMMA, with works by Diane Arbus, Louise Bourgeois, Jackie Nickerson and Thomas Ruff. As well as the artwork on display, the show also features the gallery’s on-going collaboration with Arts & Disability Ireland: Discovery Pens. A wonderful initiative that sees audio descriptive pens provided to visitors in order to allow all, regardless of sight, to engage with…