‘Enlighten’ Exhibition Opening at Hambly & Hambly

Written By Maria Noonan-McDermott

Exciting times!

This Saturday marks the big launch at Hambly & Hambly and I am delighted to have a full collection of paintings on show alongside my winning painting, 'Splendid Isolation' and 4 poems from the Enlighten Challenges.

Check out the line up.

Celebrate the Summer Solstice 2021 and let the light flood in! Hambly & Hambly are delighted to invite you to the official re-opening of our physical Gallery and Creative Hub. Please join us for warm hospitality and friendship at our celebration of Visual Art, Dance, Literature & Music. Exhibition ENLIGHTEN is a celebration of the H&H open call for submissions throughout lockdown.

Saturday 19th June, 2021

3pm - 8pm

3pm Official Welcome Ciara Hambly, Wolfgang Buttress, Suzanne Garuda

Wolfgang Buttress is the international award-winning sculptor of"Rise" in Belfast. He has created a new body of paintings inspired by the landscape of the north of Ireland especially for ENLIGHTEN at H&H.

Suzanne Garuda is Principal Interior Designer at Garuda Design an international award winning interior design company and a well known television presenter.

Hambly & Hambly is a unique gallery and multi-purpose Arts space for the North West, designed around our core belief in the value of Arts, Culture, Conservation & Education.

3:30pm A Show of Contemporary World Champion Irish Dance & Music

Mount Lourdes Irish Dancers accompanied by Pat McCabe & Caithlin McKillion

4pm Onwards & throughout: ENLIGHTEN Bubbles of Art.

Visit the extensive exhibition of Art in safe bubbles of visual heaven.

5pm The Two Five Ones. Swing into the solstice with Jazz & Blues

Scrumptious Canapés by the Lovely Leitrim Barge. Welcome drink on arrival and bar thereafter.

Sign in on arrival. Music & Dance outside. Visual Exhibition inside. Masks mandatory inside.

Limited parking. Pre-booking necessary of this free event please: email ciara@hamblyandhambly.com

EXHIBITION ENLIGHTEN

More than 1000 works by world-class leading contemporary Artists, featuring:

Exhibition 1: 100+ Winning Artworks & Poetry from H&H lockdown initiative ENLIGHTEN

Exhibition 2: A curation of new works by H&H represented Artists.

‘Splendid Isolation’ Oil on canvas

‘Splendid Isolation’
Oil on canvas

Maria Noonan-McDermott

Irish Artist Maria Noonan-McDermott Bio


Originally from Donegal, Irish artist and poet Maria Noonan McDermott now lives and works from her studio in Kinlough, Co. Leitrim.


Heavily influenced by the impressionist movement, her work focuses on the study of light and form in Irish landscapes.

With a love of folklore and story-telling, Noonan McDermott's influences lie in rural Ireland, it is in these magical places that share a colloquial history where stories and the people are often ingrained into the landscape.


I began my artistic career in Dublin in 1985 and qualified in Fashion and Design. I returned to college and completed a certificate in visual education before continuing on to study Fine Art. In the year 1990, I had my first solo exhibition of paintings. The feedback and encouragement I received helped direct me on my current path.


My work has always been influenced by a deep connection with the natural environment, the beautiful rugged Irish landscape with its endlessly changing skies and dramatic seas. I am equally fascinated by the people that the land holds so tightly and am firmly bound in kinship with their poetic writing, their stories and soulful lyrics.


I've always been in awe of the storyteller, those gifted people who so fluidly guide you into their fantasy worlds, who submerge you so deeply, you cry, laugh and often seethe with anger and frustration. To me, this is true magic, possessing the rare skill of creating something from nothing, evoking such passion and emotion.


Growing up I found words didn't come so easily to me, art and writing became my outlet. I was transformed into the 'Cailleach Feasa', the storyteller. I recorded and recollected all the tales from times gone by, breathing life back into places and quirky characters I met along the way.


I was raised in a small village in Donegal and like most small communities in Ireland, it was filled with the most amazing characters.


As a child, my head was filled with fantastical stories told and dramatised by neighbours and family, the gatekeepers of local history. These tales, were, of course, exaggerated and embellished with such fun and gusto, like only true Irish seanchai can, that I couldn't help growing up with a great love of the people around me and all their fascinating antics.


In my work, I narrate the stories with colour and humour as over the years they've formed and shaped in my memory.
My paintings become the text and you the reader and as the reader, you are challenged to participate and choose your own journey. Thus, enabling the story to live all over again!


This attachment is ingrained in my work and I strive to bring forth its warmth in the most honest and pure way I know how.

https://www.marianoonan-mcdermott.com
Previous

The Solas Art Gallery Summer Open
Next

Meditations in Time of Civil War Exhibition in the Hamilton Gallery, Sligo.