implicit art

The Figure in Colour
Clare Greene, Irish Pop-Art Nudes
Opening 6.00pm – 8.00pm Thursday 27th March
Haydn Shaughnessy Gallery

Clare Greene, one of Ireland’s best known ceramicists returns to her first love, painting, in her show, The Figure in Colour, opening March 27th at the Haydn Shaughnessy Gallery in Kinsale. The exhibition comprises 20 pop-art nudes that evoke eroticism and restraint in equal measure.

In Clare’s work thin pencil-like lines of the female body are set against startling atonal colours to create an altogether novel effect. These unusual images were created by sketching a live model using the computer software programme Paintbox as the initial drafting tool. The atonal digital sketches she created then act as a prototype for her acrylic on canvas paintings. We will be showing both the paintings and the digital originals.

She is one of a small number of Irish artists experimenting with pop art techniques and tones, and along with Paul La Rocque the only one we are aware of that uses new media technologies to create this type of work.

“This current body of work represents a new departure for me as an artist,” says Clare. “To date, I have worked mostly in the medium of clay. This previous work increasingly veered towards the representation of the figure. From there it was an easy and fruitful progression to the painted figure – to the portrayal of the figure in a medium that was always very special to me.”

“We’re excited to have Clare in the gallery,” said owner Haydn Shaughnessy. “And this is a very fruitful line of work for her and Irish art. It’s very honest and very risky with its openness. New yet somehow familiar, modern and innovative, simple and pared down yet still vibrant.”

The gallery, which promotes innovative artists from around the world, can be found in the centre of Kinsale next to the Yacht Club on the marina.