A Grand TourPaintings by Geraldine O’Riordan

You are invited to the opening of

A GRAND TOUR

New paintings by Geraldine O’Riordan offering acontemporary view of our built heritage.

On Thursday, October 3rd, at 6 pm. at the Boole Library,University College Cork.

The opening speaker will be Peter Murray,Director, Crawford Gallery, Cork.

The exhibition runs until December 31st.

A Grand Tour

The paintings in this exhibition will lead you on a voyage of discovery through glimpses of Georgian architecture. Years of experience as a decorative artist is evidenced by Geraldine’s tendency to recreate textures, such as marble and stone, in her paintings. Working on structures, for example, Fota House, Glin Castle and Castlehyde, provided early inspiration and impetus for this body of work. Without pretense, Geraldine portrays alluring renditions of impressive facades and sumptuous interiors. The occasional inclusion of the spectator breathes a sense of the seductive charm with which these buildings are held. Geraldine suggests, “My focus is to raise awareness of our journey through history, narrated through our built heritage”.

The Cork chapter of the Irish Georgian Society and its members have visited approximately two hundred buildings in its ten year existence. Many of these were private historic homes the owners to which the society is indebted. Geraldine’s involvement on the committee and her voluntary work with the Irish Heritage Trust at Fota House influenced her desire to create a visual record of these outstanding places.

Against the backdrop of the vernacular architecture of our villages and towns, our Georgian buildings capture another aspect of our history. Thankfully their often negative meaning, to the majority of Irish generations in the past, has been repositioned today. A salient point is that the vestiges of British oppression have virtually been vanquished. We have come to embrace these buildings as part of our history and to appreciate the Irish craftsmen that built them. It is apparent that our previous preoccupation with distancing ourselves from a colonial consciousness is no longer extant. The days of an ‘a la carte’ approach to our historic buildings seems relegated to the history books and we have come to embrace the full spectrum of the buildings that symbolise that journey.

Viewing a Morrison, 80x100 cm, acrylic on linen

A Georgian Doorcase, 80x100 cm, acrylic on linen

Rear view of a Georgian House, 61x51 cm, acrylic on linen

Room with a Chair, 61x51 cm, acrylic on linen

Lady with the Ringlets, 61x51 cm, acrylic on linen

The Nursery, 61x51 cm, acrylic on linen

The Boudoir, 61x51 cm, acrylic on linen

Scaglioli Pillars, 61x51 cm, acrylic on linen

The Orangery, 50x50 cm, acrylic on linen

A Collector’s Home, 61x51 cm, acrylic on linen

Enfilade with an Irish Side Table, 61x51 cm, acrylic on linen

A Georgian Courtyard, 61x51 cm, acrylic on linen

Lady Louisa’s Print Room, 61x51 cm, acrylic on linen

Army Memoribilia, 61x51 cm, acrylic on linen

A Cork Outing, 51x61, acrylic on linen

Lismore Shop, 50x50 cm, acrylic on linen

A Georgian Shop Window, 50x50 cm, acrylic on linen

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank Jennifer McCrea, Development and Participation coordinator for the Irish Heritage Trust, for her enthusiasm in this exhibition and for selecting and displaying appropriate artifacts from the Fota House archive.

I would also like to thank Lesley Roberts of Mount Rivers, Carrigaline, for his hospitality and generosity in allowing the display of memorabilia from his personal collection.

Finally, many thanks to Pat McDonnell’s Paints for their kind sponsorship towards the printing of this exhibition catalogue.

Geraldine O’Riordan brings to her canvases the observation and skill gathered from more than two decades of commissioned mural work and decorative art. Her mission for this exhibition was to capture on canvas the grace and beauty of Irish historical structures and their importance as repositories of history and the arts and crafts of a nation. Through her bold application of richly layered paint and her astute skill in capturing light and colour she endevours to impart, what she considers, the delightful atmosphere that these buildings exude.

In February 2013 Geraldine O’Riordan received a Tyrone Guthrie bursary award from Cork County Council. In May she was artist of the month at the Lavit Gallery, Cork.

www.geraldineoriordan.com