what has been shall always never be again
Guest Curator
Ormston House Gallery
Limerick, Ireland
16 August - 6 September, 2013
The works selected for this exhibition approach such places. Other times. Ideal states. Aesthetic and conceptual possibilities. Featuring new work in installation art, painting, performance art, photography, sculpture, sound and video art, what has been shall always never be again showcases a selection of distinct and complementary artists' work from the Ormston House Gallery membership. Sifting through images, materials and affects, the artists presented here share a persistent resilience, forging new languages, conventions and new worlds in the midst of reconciling the unfulfilled expectations of our recent past. Turning not towards nostalgia—for utopia was never here to be lost—they look for and work with what is present and possible today. They dwell not on retrieving what was lost but on the possibilities that emerge through an acceptance of our present condition—processing and composing visual and material worlds that seem cautiously hopeful but resolutely contemporary.
Artists featured:
Ramona BURKE | Michael CLEARY | Simon CUMMINS | Gerry DAVIS | Pat FITZPATRICK | Noelle GALLAGHER | Saidhbhin GIBSON | Bernadette KEATING | Maggie MADDEN | Steve MAHER | Eilish MURRIHY | Áine PHILLIPS | Rory TANGNEY | Paul TARPEY
Exhibition Team
Mary Conlon
Chris Boland
Paul Quast
Joan Stack
Eilísh Murrihy
Megan Collins
Eimear Redmond
Niamh Brown
Gimena Blanco
Chris Hayes
Bernadette Keating, In 2009 Dell announced the closure of its computer manufacturing plant in Limerick with the loss of 1,900 jobs. It was Ireland’s second largest employer. The empty car park at the plant is now regularly frequented by dog walkers. – from the series Out of Dense Fog, 2012.