Jolly good show at the Glebe

It's always worth paying one or maybe more visits over Easter to the annual open art exhibition at the Glebe Gallery out at Derek Hill's place near Churchill. The Good Friday evening opening is a major social event for Donegal's art lovers and chattering classes.

Room with a Window, by Daniel Nelis

The historic town of Ramelton was well featured this time around. And prices for some of the works looked very reasonable. Here's a wee write-up from the time -

Maura McGlynn lifts Hill award at Glebe

By Martin McGinley

Maura McGlynn was a very popular winner of the Derek Hill Foundation Prize at the annual Easter Open Art Competition exhibition at the Glebe Gallery, Churchill, on Good Friday evening.

The winning artwork, ‘Gola Island 2’, is one of four pictures in the exhibition from the Galway-born artist, who is based in nearby Trentagh.

There was another big crowd for the exhibition opening. On display are 78 works selected from an entry of more than 360 by this year’s judges, Celine Haran, deputy director of the Void Gallery in Derry, and Eilís Lavelle, curator-in-residence for 2015 at Letterkenny Regional Cultural Centre.

The exhibition stays open until next Sunday, 12^th April.

“It’s another good show,” said Glebe curator Adrian Kelly. “We only really advertise the competition in the North-West because we want to encourage entries from locally-based artists. And that’s working for us, because we are uncovering new talent here every year. We have a great mix, from the amateur and enthusiast to the professional artists, and we always have a good percentage who have never submitted before.”

Other prizewinners at the show include some familiar names on the art scene in Donegal.

Two strong portraits got prizes – ‘Room with a Window’ from Daniel Nelis, a former Derek Hill Foundation Prize winner, and ‘Magpie’ from Patricia Conlon.

Aideen Connolly won with her black-and-white drawing, ‘Atlantic Edge’. Aideen recently featured in the ‘Coney’ group show in the Hyde Bridge Gallery in Sligo.

Ramelton, End of Summer 2014, by Ian Gordon

Ramelton features strongly. Cathal McGinley, frequently seen sketching on the streets of the town, won with another pencil drawing, ‘Bridge End Ramelton’, and Ian Gordon for the impressionistic ‘Ramelton, End of Summer 2014’. Ian recently had a solo show at Ross Fine Art in Ramelton.

Snow on Carnaween, by Johnny Boyle

The show is dominated by small works, mostly representational, and across the disciplines, from painting to sculpture to ceramic work. Standouts include Christy Keeney’s light-bathed ‘Girl With Blackbird’, Johnny Boyle’s colour-filled ‘Snow on Carnaween’, Cornelius Browne’s brooding ‘The Bay in February’, Sarah Davidson’s welcoming ‘Landing Light’ and Rita Wilson’s dramatic photograph ‘Pollgorm Downings’.

Girl with Blackbird, by Christy Keeney [apologies for light on glass!]

Prices remain well down on the pre-2008 heights and there’s good value on offer. In ceramics, Emma Moore’s ‘Blue Boat Vessel’ is €165 and the very lovable ‘The Beekeeper’s House’ from Niamh Fahy is there at a snip, €90. Deirdre O’Callaghan’s fine vases, ‘Vivian Vase 1 – 3’, are priced from €120 to €170.

See more on the Glebe Gallery’s facebook page.