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Mary Duffy, Artist Announces
Paintings from a Thousand Days
Tinakilly - May 10, 2009 - Press Release
"For me, being an artist is very difficult. In my life, and in my painting, I always do what scares me the most. And I have found that embracing what terrifies turns out, in the end, to be joyous and ultimately very freeing. "
Wicklow-based artist Mary Duffy mounts her fourth solo exhibition in Tinakilly House near Rathnew, Co Wicklow, on Sunday, May 10th.
The event, to be launched by RTE's Pat Kenny, will feature paintings from her three recent collections together with new work. It is titled "Paintings from a Thousand Days". The show will run until Sunday, May 17th, and is part of the Wicklow Arts Festival.
The title is inspired by the time span in which the work was created. "I have been painting for just over a thousand days, and this exhibition at Tinakilly celebrates the work I have done in this period. It includes a selection of pieces from each of my three collections, as well as some new work, which includes life studies and portraiture.
She derives inspiration for much of her landscape work from the rare fen habitat close by where she lives, near Newcastle, Co Wicklow.
"This is a place where land and water meet; it is lovely and lush, squishy and wet. I've battled the elements, sunshine and showers, ploughed through the long grass, plunged through water and mud, wrestled with high winds and faced down frolicking bullocks while making the work.
"In this halfway world there is a wonderful merging of marsh, dyke and woodland, rich in blues, vibrant greens, sharp lemony yellows, deep ochres, vivid purples and burnished gold."
Her work, mainly in oils, is distinguished by its bold and vibrant use of colour, and its proficient, gutsy and intuitive approach to its subjects. Critics have described her work as "beautiful and beguiling". Of her "Pond" series, Liam Murphy of The Munster Express writes that the "three large pieces...capture the exciting vibrant evocation of this artist's journey into achievement and beneath the surface of images. There is so much going on in the work: Wild Blue has a dark tone of flora on water; Dark Lilies has deeper bluer tones; and Lilies in Summer surprises with a touch of light and white in a pool of blue. Beautiful".
Duffy held her first solo exhibition of paintings in the Bold Gallery, Galway, in 2007. Early the following year "Sea, Sky & The Square Mile"" was exhibited at the Signal Arts Centre in Bray, Co. Wicklow, and last autumn she showed her "Wild Blue" exhibition in The Old Market House Arts Centre, Dungarvan, Co Waterford.
Her work hangs in the National Self-Portrait Collection, and former-President Mary Robinson unveiled a portrait by Duffy recently in the law faculty at University College, Galway
Painting marks Duffy's return to her first love as an artist, in a career spanning over 25 years. After graduating from NCAD in 1983, she focused on photography and performance art, establishing an international reputation in both disciplines. She exhibited in venues across the world, including the prestigious Institute of Contemporary Art in London, the National Museum of Photography in Tokyo and New Langton Arts in San Francisco. After mounting her first solo show in the Belltable Arts Centre in Limerick in 1989, she received numerous commissions and awards, including the Gracie Fields Live Art Bursary.
Following the completion of a Master's Degree in Equality Studies, Duffy took a creative detour into journalism and broadcasting in the mid-1990s, working first as a programme maker, then researcher, and later as a producer in RTE Radio. Her first radio documentary "The Lino Crossing - Tales of the Observed" was nominated for the European broadcasting award, the Prix d'Italia.
She was subsequently awarded an honorary doctorate of laws by the NUI for her contribution to the disability rights movement.
Duffy's return to her first love is characteristically described as a challenge. "People sometimes comment that being an artist is "lovely and relaxing". But I have not found this to be true. In fact, for me, being an artist is very difficult. In my life, and in my painting, I always do what scares me the most. And I have found that embracing what terrifies turns out, in the end, to be joyous and ultimately very freeing. "
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About Me
All of my life I have been an artist... I am one who likes to engage with the world on many levels.
When I paint, I feel alive. Engaged. Challenged. I take comfort in my ability to become engrossed in the world around me through the process of painting. My commitment to my work requires me to be fearless, to have endurance, to be energetic and really present.
However, as a disabled artist, painting has always been a struggle for me. I cannot dismiss my experience and say that being disabled makes no difference. It does. It affects every aspect of my painting - the speed at which I work (very fast), the format (big), the choice of materials (oils), where I go (always out) and how I get there (usually on foot).
Notwithstanding these difficulties, at the end of the day, I value most highly my enthusiasm for getting out and doing it, in all weathers,. I also highly value the big toe on my left foot as a tool for painting. A close third comes my palette knife. Short, sharp and to the point. Like myself.
Mary Duffy
May, 2009
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Quick Links
Email Mary Duffy
Phone 01 2810839
086 85 84 436
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Mary Duffy, Artist
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