• 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…

  • Irish Tour: Frightened Rabbit

    February 15, 2017 - By 

    Frightened Rabbit live at Belfast’s Limelight 1, Kilkenny’s Set Theatre and Galway’s Roisin Dubh. Photos by Colm Laverty, Ian McDonnell and Sean McCormark. Limelight 1, Belfast As strange as it may sound, Frightened Rabbit are at their best when they are on the verge of falling apart. Watching the band rip through selections from their back catalogue this evening, it is striking just how often they are precariously balanced on the edge of chaos. It is this very quality that makes their music so beguiling. The remarkable tension in any given Frightened Rabbit song stems from a finely wrought balance…