Mullingar artist's work on show in Athlone gallery

“Now & Then, Here & There”, the exhibition currently showing at The Luan Gallery in Athlone, features the work of the Mullingar native and leading contemporary artist, Eoin Butler.

Set to remain on display until February 9, the exhibition is a fascinating retrospective of work spanning the course of Butler’s career and the focus is on paintings and drawings of distinguished landscapes from around Mullingar.

The countryside is important to Butler, who inspects the landscape and recreates the beauty he observes with charcoal on paper. His charcoal drawings document the trees during the autumn/winter months when the trees are bare; this allows him to recognize the true structure and placement of branches before the leaves begin to grow.

His charcoal drawings include a selection of smaller, simplified drawings such as Le Rouse where the use of charcoal is minimalistic as he begins the process of understanding the tree through simple lines and sketches. He then moves on to create more large scale drawings such as The Thicket or The Chase.

These drawings illustrate how trees are not flat structures, they take on a life form of their own as the branches entwine and sprout from every direction, emerging from their spatial surround. He then uses oil on canvas to translate the changes within the trees and its structure during the summer months as the appearance of trees change with the addition of the colourful green leaves. His attention to detail and efficiency creates a realistic nature walk through the gallery.

In Eoin`s bog series his work takes more of a conceptual approach as we find hidden meanings through his use of block colours and markings. This body of work recreates a familiar landscape “the bog”.

The experience of viewing this work is similar to a walk through memory lane for some, as many Irish families visit the bog to gather turf during the summer season. It is a tradition passed down through generations and each family that enters the bog contributes to the markings that will remain in the land as a memory of their visit. The paintings act as a trek through time and place as he exhibits an ariel view of the markings that remain in the land when we are done harvesting the turf.

The tranquil colours can place a viewer into a sense of inner peace as the world stands to a hault as the paintings absorb your concentration. Eoin`s work provides a visual guide through time. His use of colour depicts the changes that occur to the landscape as the sun begins to set. He demonstrates how the appearance of the landscape changes through time.

Luan Gallery is delighted to welcome schools and groups for talks and tours throughout the exhibition run. Guided tours are free of cost and available on request to all.

Luan Gallery is open Tuesday – Saturday from 11.00 – 17.00 and Sundays 12.00 – 17.00. The gallery is closed on Mondays.