Cecilia Danell

So, what do you think of the new website design? I thought it was about time to update the look of the site slightly since the previous colour scheme was created to fit with the work of my degree show two years ago and since I’ve moved on a bit since then I thought it was about time for the site to move ahead with me.

Mid-July proved to be a very busy time for me with no less than three shows opening in the one week! The 11th marked the opening of Outside:insight at Brigit’s Garden in Roscahill, Co. Galway. It’s a sculpture exhibition running until the end of August. I made the piece “Construction of self” which you can read more about :here: and the opening day was good fun.

Here’s a little collage I put together with some of the artworks on view:

On the 13th Enrage, the Engage studios members show opened in the White Room Gallery as part of the Galway Arts Festival. We had been asked by curator Ian McInerney to make work in b/w, which resulted in these pieces:

View close ups of the ink paintings :here:

I was very pleased with how the show was curated and the pieces worked very well together, despite the diverse practice of the 17 members participating. Also, Aidan Dunne of The Irish Times really liked the show, which was great to hear.

Then on the 15th That Robot Aint Candy opened in the Mad Art Gallery in Dublin, featuring work with an urban theme by myself, Shane O’Connor (aka Sketchy Inc.) and Carolyn Walsh.

Three of my paintings based on stills from my animated videos. I was also showing the videos on a monitor.

Me, Shane and the gallery owner (photo courtesy of Shane O’Connor)

There are many more photos from the opening and documentation of the exhibition on Shane’s site: http://www.sketchyinc.com The three of us also made a collaborative limited edition print (ed. 50) which has each been signed by us and is for sale at 10 euro each. It can be viewed on Shane’s site and if you want to buy one you can contact him there.

When I was in Dublin I also had time to go to a number of exhibitions around town. My favourites, which deserve a mention, were King Rat at the Project Arts Centre and Norbert Schwontkowski at the Kerlin Gallery. Absolutely amazing shows which have stayed with me long after seeing them.

I’m taking a little break from the studio now for a couple of weeks, since I’ve been so extremely busy for the last few months. Feel free to browse around the newly added sections of the site, which include an extract from the video ‘Doubles’ from the {un}familiar show, the ‘Construction of self’ sculpture and my ink paintings for the ‘Enrage’ show.

The opening of the Dock Discourse project in the 126 Gallery on the 11th June went really well, with a fantastic turn out. I could barely get into the gallery by the time I arrived. You can see photos from the opening here. During the course of the exhibition there has also been a discussion event in the gallery and on site installations in the middle pier of the dock by some of the participating artists. I’d like to extend my thanks to everyone who has participated, supported and visited the exhibition, which is closing tomorrow.

Video installation by Michelle Browne

There was a talk in the Galway Arts Centre by curator Maeve Mulrennan on the 29th July about the {un}familiar exhibition, which was also well attended. Over the last couple of weeks I have been making work for two other group shows which will be opening soon. The new work is a continuation of the work I made for the {un}familiar show, based around the shelter in the woods in Sweden.

The first show is called Outside: Insight and is a site specific sculpture exhibition in Brigit’s Garden in Rosscahill, Co. Galway featuring several emerging artists. My piece is entitled “Construction of self” and continues to deal with the house as a metaphor for the self. The exhibition runs from the 11th July until the end of August.

Work in progress.

I am also working on a series of ink paintings for ‘Enrage’ in the White Room Gallery, Galway. A show featuring Engage studios artists for the Galway Arts Festival. The curator is Ian McInerney from the Black Mariah in Cork. All work featured is being confined to black/white or grayscale. I’m really enjoying working within these strict parameters for a change, since I normally tend to use a lot of colour in my work. The Arts Festival runs between the 12th – 25th July.

Apart from this I will also be showing work alongside Shane O’Connor and Carolyn Walsh in the Mad Art Gallery in Dublin between the 15th – 21st July. The show is entitled “That Robot Aint Candy” and the three artists taking part are all dealing with an urban theme in their work.
The work created for this exhibition was also selected for this year’s Claremorris Open Exhibition, which I’m very happy about. It’s curated by Lisa Le Feuvre, senior lecturer in fine arts at Goldsmiths, London.

That’s it for now, a bit about what I’m up to at the moment!

Tomorrow marks the launch of the ‘Dock Doscourse’ exhibition in the 126 Gallery in Galway. Find out more about the show on their website: www.126.ie under “Current Exhibition”.

Aideen Barry’s part in the project; “An artist’s impression”, which I mentioned about in my previous post and whick was delivered with the Galway Independent newspaper yesterday, can be downloaded as a .pdf file :HERE: for those of you who don’t live in Galway or failed to pick up a copy of the paper.

Here are a couple of pictures I took of the installation work down in the gallery today:

So we’re all set for the opening tomorrow then!

Busy times! The {un}familiar exhibition opened in the Galway Arts Centre on Thursday the 3rd and I am very pleased with the turn out for the opening and the positive feedback I’ve got on my work and the show overall, well done to Maeve who curated it and to all the artists taking part!

I spent a while today updating the website with a section for the {un}familiar project and some photos from the opening. Check out the paint section and the studio section. Some screen caps from the ‘Doubles’ video I made for the show are up in the video section, the video itself will follow at a later stage. If you get a chance, do drop into the Arts Centre and have a look at the show, it will be on till the 2nd July and the video is being projected in a room of its own, so it looks quite good.

Today I was out at the GMIT (Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology) and looked at the degree show. I have to say I was very impressed with the paint department this year, some really good work there. I met several old college friends I hadn’t seen in a while and some other great people so it was fun!

Next week will mark the launch of the Dock Discourse exhibition down in the 126 gallery by the docks. Aideen Barry is producing “An artist’s Impression“, a publication where a handful of artists, including myself are responding to the Galway Docklands through drawing. It will be added as a supplement to the Galway Independent newspaper on Wednesday and also be available down in the gallery space when the show is on. Click the image below for more info!

I also have a few other things in the pipeline, including an exhibition featuring Engage Art Studios members in the White Room Gallery in Galway as part of the Arts Festival. The title for the show is ‘Enrage’.

I am alive and working, just to let you know. My brother came over from Sweden and stayed with us for two weeks around my birthday and went home yesterday. He was meant to stay only one week but ended up staying two due to that well known ash cloud. Didn’t mind really, I enjoyed spending some more time with him.

Here he is visiting my studio:


I’m working on a large painting at the moment. Here are a couple of close ups, it’s still in progress.