O.A.K. (Open Art Killenure)
OAK 2015
Killenure Castle is once again delighted to open its gates to an enthusiastic audience to share the eclectic mix of architecture, its rich historical legacy and this year we will once again be hosting our OAK ( Open Art Killenure ) show from May 11th – June 30th 2015, opening hours – 10:30-2:30 Mon-Sun. Entry €5. OAP and concession €3. Children under 6 are free.
About the Exhibition
OAK 2 guest curator, Pauline O’Connell
This year’s exhibition aims to reawaken a ‘ghost’ of times past. Our curatorial thinking relates to ‘time’, the history / the lives (both human and animal) the domestic activities, the utilitarian aspects of the working farm from the past embedded in the historic ruins of the castle and in the surrounding farm buildings. Whilst the fabric of the stables, tack rooms, hay lofts / gallery spaces are in tact and have not been affected by any embellishments, there remains a presence in the vacant spaces, an echo of what was once there. So, it is this ‘ghost’ that we are interested in, reawakening through artistic interventions and installations”.
A cross section of art practice accounts for the wide variety of work on display, ranging from traditional sculpture, painting to video and installation, work that relates to the rural context in varying conceptual and textural ways.”
The list of artists are : Maud Cotter, Niall O Neill, Michael Canning, Eileen Mac Donagh, Daphne Wright, Marie Foley, Sonja Landweer, Margaret Tuffy, Cecilia Bullo, Cecilia Moore, Bob Frazier, Martin Lyttle, Martha Quinn, Tom Fitzgerald, David Fitzjohn (Wales), Michael Fortune, Rachel Parry, Aoife Banville, Eva Kelly, Holger Lang (Austria).
Favela, houses in the woods at OAK 2012, Aoife Barrett
Epona artworks presented tree root horse sculptures (right) by Abdul Ghofur at OAK 2012
‘Gate, Ducketts Grove’ by Gwen Wilkinson at OAK 2012
Throughout May and June, selected artworks occupy this ancient demesne. Visitors are welcome to view the work and explore the grounds of this private home transformed into a gallery space for the summer.
The visitor will start the OAK trail at the fortified house with four towers, built in the late 1500s. Then continue down the old coachway where they will encounter more nature inspired work in the ‘fairy forest’, a wild copse.
‘Folded’ by Niall O Neill OAK 2012
‘Untitled, 3 vessels’ by Andrew Ludick at OAK 2012
‘Assymetrical form’ by Sonja Landweer at OAK 2012
Enter the walled garden and on to the ‘stone trees’, the ivy covered masonry posts of an ancient haybarn. On to the Tennis Court, then the Georgian outhouses of the courtyard with a vast Sycamore in the centre – the old forge, stables, coach house and scullery. Up the stairs to the recently converted studio gallery. Complete the exhibition with a visit to the Victorian kitchen hall gallery and the ‘Little Tea Room’.
Over thirty artists have been invited to make and site work in the castle grounds. The work is sensitively placed in areas chosen by the artists who visited the castle in advance of submitting their proposals.
Many themes are present in the work – the big house and its strong legacy on the landscape, the ancient trees growing through the ruins, the violent past – the house was reputed to have been burned by Cromwellian forces in the mid 1600s; the self sufficiency and beauty of the walled garden built in 1800s which is now a cattle pasture; the ruins of an old barn consumed by ivy – the natural world overpowering the past.
A catalogue about the house and OAK is available for sale.
‘Echo’ detail by Mary Butler
‘There is an island where trees fly away and leave their pigeons baffled, standing in the air’ by Eamon Colman
‘Gate, Ducketts Grove’ by Gwen Wilkinson
OAK Participating Artists
Saturio Alonzo, Steven Aylin, Jackie Ball, Aoife Barrett who will be working on site during the following dates in May. Tues 1, Wed 2, Mon 7, Tues 8, Tues 15, Mon 21, Tues 22, Sat 26, Sun 27, Mon 28 and Tues 29. Cormac Boydell, Mary Butler, Lian Callaghan, John Cash, Andrea Cleary, Eamon Colman, Mona Croom Carroll, Remco de Fouw, Aisling Ely, Abdul Ghofur/Epona Artwork, Inga Hamilton, Richard Healy, Sonja Landweer, Andrew Ludick, Padraig McGoran, Liz Nilsson, Niall O Neill, Pauline O’Connell, Geraldine O’Neill, Tony O’Malley, David Quinn, Philip Quinn, Paul Roche, Caroline Schofield, Una Sealy, Beatice Stewart, Gwen Wilkinson.
Little Acorns at OAK
‘Mr Paddy’ made in Killenure Castle during a series of 13 workshops in February and April, will also be on display. Made entirely from recycled materials by local school children and their parents, this float hooked a number of significant prizes at the St Patrick’s day parades in Co Tipperary in 2012!