Lorraine Burrell, Plug, 2010
Single-channel video
© the artist, courtesy of Catherine Clark Gallery, San Francisco
this little bag of dreams...
A group exhibition of Contemporary Irish Art at Catharine Clark Gallery
July 23 – August 27, 2011
Catharine Clark Gallery announces this little bag of dreams..., a group exhibition of Contemporary Irish Art, co-curated by Nathan Larramendy (San Francisco) and Josephine Kelliher (Dublin). Works in painting, sculpture, installation, and videos are presented by seven contemporary Irish artists living and working in Ireland: Aideen Barry, Lorraine Burrell, Maud Cotter, Seamus Harahan, Niamh McCann, Tom Molloy, and Garrett Phelan. A literary reading will be presented at the closing of the exhibition, on Saturday, August 27 at 1pm, followed by a reception.The exhibition and series of events at Catharine Clark Gallery is part of Imagine Ireland, a year-long season of Irish arts in America in 2011.
Take, if you must, this little bag of dreams;
Unloose the cord, and they will wrap you round.
(W.B. Yeats from the poem Fergus and the Druid)
In his retelling of the mythological story of Fergus and the Druid, William Butler Yeats could be speaking about the contemporary anxiety that drives us to dissect and decipher life; to seek detailed insight into our present and our future. King Fergus was a troubled Irish historical figure who consulted a Druid and was offered what; perhaps, we all both secretly yearn for and dread: the “bag of dreams” that contains all knowledge of what is past and what is to come. In the throes of a dilemma - an existential crisis - a BIG answer seems like the only solution. Indeed Fergus opens the bag, and by the poem’s end, he “know[s] all”. This knowledge, however does not quell his anxiety; by knowing all, he has robbed himself of the hope that comes with uncertainty. He is as sure as death and is futureless. So what particular bags of dreams does today’s world require, where are we to find it, and how deeply should we even seek it?
Artists routinely undertake a search of a different kind to that of Yeats’ Fergus. Their searches are for the possibility of ideas, for opening up visions of the future, and are, perhaps, less maddening than absolute truth. Artists inhabit the fertile and satisfying territory of mystery and imagination. There are, after all, no absolutes, and there is no comfort in clinging to the shifting sands of so-called “proven” truths. In their various ways the artists in this exhibition take facts and realities, disassemble them, and run permutations and combinations of “what if” scenarios. Their “bags of dreams” are visions of an infinite variety of truths and futures; and in this noisy global society, their work is more crucial than ever as they pause to interrogate, refocus, or review how things are, or how they might be different.
Artists often interact with materials, news, facts, and realities in a manner that is not in the least scientific; working with serendipity, curiosity, and a healthy skepticism of rules and regulations. In these days we need reminders of those facilities and faculties more than ever. The artists in this exhibition put such endeavors under the microscope of making, and of seeing, and in the results of their experimentation are to be found both hope and despair. W.B. Yeats, Fergus, and yes, the Druid too, would have been proud, and also highly intrigued.
Single-channel video
© the artist, courtesy of Catherine Clark Gallery, San Francisco
this little bag of dreams...
A group exhibition of Contemporary Irish Art at Catharine Clark Gallery
July 23 – August 27, 2011
Catharine Clark Gallery announces this little bag of dreams..., a group exhibition of Contemporary Irish Art, co-curated by Nathan Larramendy (San Francisco) and Josephine Kelliher (Dublin). Works in painting, sculpture, installation, and videos are presented by seven contemporary Irish artists living and working in Ireland: Aideen Barry, Lorraine Burrell, Maud Cotter, Seamus Harahan, Niamh McCann, Tom Molloy, and Garrett Phelan. A literary reading will be presented at the closing of the exhibition, on Saturday, August 27 at 1pm, followed by a reception.The exhibition and series of events at Catharine Clark Gallery is part of Imagine Ireland, a year-long season of Irish arts in America in 2011.
Take, if you must, this little bag of dreams;
Unloose the cord, and they will wrap you round.
(W.B. Yeats from the poem Fergus and the Druid)
In his retelling of the mythological story of Fergus and the Druid, William Butler Yeats could be speaking about the contemporary anxiety that drives us to dissect and decipher life; to seek detailed insight into our present and our future. King Fergus was a troubled Irish historical figure who consulted a Druid and was offered what; perhaps, we all both secretly yearn for and dread: the “bag of dreams” that contains all knowledge of what is past and what is to come. In the throes of a dilemma - an existential crisis - a BIG answer seems like the only solution. Indeed Fergus opens the bag, and by the poem’s end, he “know[s] all”. This knowledge, however does not quell his anxiety; by knowing all, he has robbed himself of the hope that comes with uncertainty. He is as sure as death and is futureless. So what particular bags of dreams does today’s world require, where are we to find it, and how deeply should we even seek it?
Artists routinely undertake a search of a different kind to that of Yeats’ Fergus. Their searches are for the possibility of ideas, for opening up visions of the future, and are, perhaps, less maddening than absolute truth. Artists inhabit the fertile and satisfying territory of mystery and imagination. There are, after all, no absolutes, and there is no comfort in clinging to the shifting sands of so-called “proven” truths. In their various ways the artists in this exhibition take facts and realities, disassemble them, and run permutations and combinations of “what if” scenarios. Their “bags of dreams” are visions of an infinite variety of truths and futures; and in this noisy global society, their work is more crucial than ever as they pause to interrogate, refocus, or review how things are, or how they might be different.
Artists often interact with materials, news, facts, and realities in a manner that is not in the least scientific; working with serendipity, curiosity, and a healthy skepticism of rules and regulations. In these days we need reminders of those facilities and faculties more than ever. The artists in this exhibition put such endeavors under the microscope of making, and of seeing, and in the results of their experimentation are to be found both hope and despair. W.B. Yeats, Fergus, and yes, the Druid too, would have been proud, and also highly intrigued.
CATHERINE CLARK GALLERY
150 Minna Street
Ground Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
T: +1 415 399 1439
CATHERINE CLARK GALLERY
Read On... CATHERINE CLARK GALLERY, San Francisco
