The Dance of Life – a trio exhibition by Thomas Barron, Declan Byrne and Sinéad Fahey for Kilkenny Arts Festival

Established KCAT Studio Artists Thomas Barron, Declan Byrne and Sinéad Fahey have some alinements in the way the surface of their paintings is compositionally broken up into patches of colour. KCAT is exploring the similarities in the artist’s work, teasing out processes and  examining the artist’s lens by how they represent the world around them in their painting. The Dance of Life explores with the viewer the relationships of mark-making, colour, and form between these three artists. All three take in the world around them, using expressive forms of mark-making with bold colours that communicate their internal thoughts and feelings.  The exhibition will be opened by a special guest, art historian, curator and writer Catherine Marshall on the 3rd of August at 3pm in KCAT Arts Centre. This exhibition is part of the Kilkenny Arts Festival programme for 2023.

Exhibition runs until the 25th August 10am to 4pm Daily.

You can find the exhibition catalogue here.

Additional events include the following;

August 8th: Free painting response workshop with artist Sinéad Fahey. One of the exhibition artists, Sinéad Fahey will lead a workshop in response to some of the themes of the exhibition of life and joy from 11-12.30pm followed by tea and light refreshments. To book your place email info@kcat.ie. There are six places available.

August 19th: A tactile tour for audiences who are blind and visually impaired led by curator of The Dance of Life, Sinéad Keogh. Sinéad was the former Creative Coordinator of the National Council for the Blind from 2013-2021. All are welcome for this tour which starts at 2pm, followed light refreshments. No booking required.

August 25th: We invite members of the public to join us for an artist film screening. Three films were made about Barron, Byrne’s and Fahey’s respective practices and will be shown in a screening in the gallery space for an audience. The thread between each others sensibilities can be found in the film pieces which act as a form of alternative artist talk in this special screening. The Artists will be present to answer questions after the screening. This is a wonderful opportunity to get an intimate insight into the artists practice and output. Light refreshments will be provided for this closing event. No booking required.

Additional tours:

Additional tours: KCAT is offering free group guided exhibition tours. Tours are limited to 15 people per group. Booking essential email: info@kcat.ie.

Exhibition open daily 10am – 4pm

About the artists:

Sinéad Fahey

Sinéad Fahey has been a member of the KCAT studio for 22 years. She has shown work internationally, including at the Beyond Festival Leeds UK, Kaarisilta Gallery Helsinki Finland, Art Brut Biennale Hengelo The Netherlands, Kunsthaus Kannen Munster Germany, Gallery Prabelli Wiltz Luxembourg, and the Freight Gallery Fremantle Australia. She has also shown extensively in Ireland, including at the F.E. McWilliam Gallery Banbridge, Farmleigh House Gallery Dublin, Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre, Riverbank Arts Centre Newbridge, Galway Arts Centre, Crawford Art Gallery Cork, and the Copper House Gallery Dublin. Sinéad’s work has been featured alongside the work of her KCAT colleagues in the feature documentary Living Colour by Wild Fire Productions. Her work is also represented within publications such as The Engagement Project KCAT (2014-2020), Works on Paper exhibition catalogue (2008), Art & Inclusion – The Story of KCAT (2009), and Peer to Peer (2007). Along with many of her KCAT colleagues, she actively promotes inclusion within the arts and has taken part in several events, such as the Engagement Symposium KCAT (2018). Sinéad has work in the collection of the Arts Council of Ireland. Sinéad’s multi-coloured animation-like works in acrylic convey the deep connection and empathy she feels with people and the natural world. Her works often depict friends and colleagues from KCAT, creatures such as birds and fish, and large multi-coloured plants and flowers. Sinéad’s highly engaging works exude playfulness and freedom. She takes the time to develop her work slowly over weeks and often months. Her careful approach makes it seem as if each work is minded into existence through a well rehearsed process that has been developed and honed over many years of practice. Sinéad has a style that is unmistakably hers. Her unique use of shape and colour can be understood as an optimistic celebration of the very idea of having beautiful people and things around us in our lives. In general terms, Sinéad’s imagery can be understood to concern love and she shares her work in order to decorate the world with the beauty she sees in it. As a result, as a viewer, Sinéad’s work can be as easy to absorb as fresh air.

Declan Byrne

Declan Byrne has been a member of the KCAT studio since 2004, where he has developed a unique and highly dedicated body of work in painting, drawing, and sculpture. He has shown internationally, including at UNT Art Galleries Dallas Texas, the Beyond Festival Leeds UK, Project Ability Gallery Glasgow Scotland, Freight Gallery Australia, Gallery Prabelli Luxembourg, Museum of everything London, Kunsthaus Kannen Germany, and the Art Brut Biennale the Netherlands. He has also shown extensively in Ireland, including at the Linenhall Arts Centre Castlebar, F.E. McWilliam Gallery Banbridge, the Atypical Gallery Belfast, West Cork Arts Centre Skibbereen, Farmleigh House Galleries Dublin, Galway Arts Centre, and Crawford Gallery Cork. Declan’s work has been featured alongside the work of his KCAT colleagues in the feature documentary Living Colour by Wild Fire Productions. His work also features in several publications, including The Engagement Project KCAT (2014-2020), Art & Inclusion: The Story of KCAT (2009), Works on Paper (2008), and the IWTK – I want to Know series of publications documenting collaborative exchanges between Cooperations, Luxembourg, SKID, Germany, Pyramid of Arts, Leeds, UK, and KCAT Studio Ireland (2015). Declan has work in the Irish National Collection at the Crawford Gallery Cork. Declan works in sculpture, drawing, and painting. Each of his paintings is created over months, with dots and various blocks and shapes of colour applied side by side, eventually speeding out in all directions over the whole canvas. This results in an intricate patchwork of colours and shapes. The subjects and figures Declan often starts with, such as particular people or scenes, do continue to reveal themselves in finished works to varying degrees. However, for the most part, figuration is largely kept at a distance through abstraction, as though each painting presents a multi-coloured ariel view of an exquisitely coloured landscape. Declan also creates sculptural works by undertaking a compelling engagement with the materiality of paint. Large quantities of small different coloured quadratic shapes of dried acrylic are piece by piece carefully and methodically glued over the entire surface of found objects in a way that creates a dynamic multi-coloured surface and coating similar to his paintings. Declan’s work is exquisite and accessible on many levels, and the artist relishes every opportunity to share his voice through his work and to be with others as they experience it.

Thomas Barron

Thomas Barron is a founding member of the KCAT art studio. He has exhibited work internationally for two decades, including at the Kaarisilta Gallery Finland, Beyond Festival Leeds UK, Art Brut Biennale The Netherlands, Gallery Prabelli Luxembourg, Gallery Inuti Sweden, Kunsthaus Kannen Germany, Goetheanum Switzerland, Project Ability Gallery Scotland, and the Freight Gallery Australia. He has also shown extensively in Ireland, including at the West Cork Arts Centre, Farmleigh House Gallery Dublin, Crawford Gallery Cork, Butler Gallery Kilkenny, Galway Arts Centre, and Axis Art Centre Ballymun Dublin. Thomas’ work has been featured alongside the work of his KCAT colleagues in Wild Fire Productions’ feature documentary Living Colour. His work also features in several publications, including The Engagement Project KCAT (2014-2020), Perceptions: The Art of Citizenship (2016), Art & Inclusion: The Story of KCAT (2009), Visible Visions (2004), and the IWTK – I want to Know series of publications documenting collaborative exchanges between Cooperations, Luxembourg, SKID, Germany, Pyramid of Arts, Leeds, UK, and KCAT Studio Ireland (2015). Thomas has spent many years honing his ever evolving method for creating beautifully composed and colourful abstract paintings. Thomas begins each work by drawing with pencil before laying down thick layers of acrylic beside and over each other in a way that brings each work through multiple colourful and dramatic variations and (re)visions. As his paintings develop, some convey a sense of large building facades with multiple windows while others invoke ariel views of multi-coloured landscapes. Each painting emerges as distinct. As with powerful abstract works generally, each offers the potential to open to what the viewer needs them to be, and the possibilities are endless. Within Thomas’ work, a remarkable equilibrium between formal elements is sought and maintained. It is as though his paintings speak to potential inner states in which balance is possible and peace prevails, even momentarily.

The Dance of Life is curated by Sinéad Keogh. Keogh states of the exhibition

“I am delighted to present in this show, a fascinating look at the work of these three powerful contemporary Irish artists and their relationship with one another.” you can find Keogh’s website here.