Artist Nine: Barry O'Brien

Barry is a Video Artist with an interest in Art, Photography & Film. He is a graduate in Fine Art from Galway/Mayo Institute of Technology. His projects focus on exploring concepts through video installation, his final year project explored ‘the human condition and the absurd’ utilising video projection, multiple TV monitors, object installation and sound.

The most enjoyable aspect of Barry's work is the humour and irony.Through his medium Barry enables the viewer to challenge their preconceptions of how they view art and see the absurdity of the world around the viewer. We have shared his video's with various people and we have yet to see a single person that did not laugh or smile at Barry's piece's. His installations are wonderful creations that can be enjoyed by everyone and help us enjoy the bizarreness within everyday life. The video on the right is an example of Barry's work. 

Artist Eight: Loki Nom

Loki graduated in a degree in Fine art painting from NCAD in 2008.`We feel that Loki's work speaks for itself and there is no need for many words when describing it. Her unusual take on her characters intrigue and enamour the viewer. We are only delighted to have her exhibit with is at our exhibition "The Circus of Bizarre Happenings" For more information check out her Facebook here. 

Artist Eight: Lisa Burke

Lisa is a very talented freelance photographer from Ireland that mainly focuses on sports photography and fine art work. She graduated from IADT in 2013 with an Honours Degree in photography. She is from County Galway and has past experience with the working in galleries and their environment. Lisa's atmospheric photographs are based on the lives of people she has met in her life and their experiences. She is interested in the inner workings of people, their beliefs and this is very much reflected in her photographs. She is very gifted at capturing the essence of the person she has photographed. 

She curates her photographs in a way that persuade the viewer to re-evaluate the space they are in. Her pieces capture intimate moments that seem shared between the viewer and the subject. Her photographs are a doorway into the internal world of the subject. 

Artist Seven: Rosemary Fallon

Image: A preview of  artwork"Rose Red 2014"
 by Rosemary Fallon  available to buy on her website here. 

Rosemary Fallon NDip. B.A. M.Sc. is an emerging Galway artist who studied a Degree in Fine Art Painting at the National College of Art & Design and completed a Masters in Multimedia in DCU. She shares her inspiring art and valuable skills through her own gallery and successful art school that are located in Galway.   

Her atmospheric creations consist of distorted characters that transport the viewer into their beautiful other worldly environments. Rosemary's allegorical paintings feature characters with oversized heads which reference the human ego. The stories behind her pieces are created on a personable level and include fragments of narratives unique to her own social engagements, life experiences and inspirations. Rosemary provides the viewer with a platform to escape into these inspiring worlds. 

In relation to inspiration Rosemary states "In relation to inspiration I never go anywhere without a pen and paper. My ideas come to me in a flash, and within seconds I know exactly what the work will look like. On completion it feels like I’m meeting an old friend and that they have always been there. As the work progresses I always feel a great empathy with the characters which then alters my own emotional state of mind. It is true to say I pour my heart and soul into my work with every object and element tells it’s own story." We are very excited to be exhibiting her collection of paintings with us from the 19th-25th May with the Wicklow Arts Festival. 

For more information on Rosemary check out her website here.

Artist Six: Tara Wade

Image: Atmospheric painting by Tara shown at an exhibition last year 

“Tara Wade is an artist that creates her work in the town of Headford in Galway. Her pieces conceptually delve into the hidden depths of human emotions that she expresses through her mixed media pieces. Her work is both layered texturally and conceptually and it illustrates her empathy and interest in people and their internal conflicts. She is inspired by artist Patrick Scott and reference of her admiration is very much illustrated in her work and in the control of her medium. 

We are delighted to be exhibiting her piece "INNER CIRCLE" with us at this year's exhibition. The process of this work began with the exploration of how we all come from our own "bizzare beginings” and how this can be the foundation to our circle of life. This piece is based on the symbol of the ring that can be referenced to feelings of trust, eternity and can be used to represent platonic and emotional love on many levels. The circle represents eternity and Tara used four canvas's to explore the inner workings of our most complicated organ, the heart. She explores the four chambers of the heart within each canvas and uses a gold substance to illustrate feelings of trust. Tara describes her concept as follows: "4 chambers of your heart showing that it's meaning, its trust, what it signifies can be broken even though it remains solid and whole for the complexity of love, your heart is so dirverse and recious you want to hold onto that symbol forever"" Ruth O’Hagan, Project Manager, The lost property project

Artist Five: Maureen O'Neill

Maureen is an artist that works with mixed media photography and is a self taught artist. She is currently experimenting with her medium through exploring the aesthetics of her subjects. She will be exhibiting her collection of photograph's: 'When they asked me what I wanted to be I said I didn't know' with us at our Exhibition "The Circus of Bizarre Happenings". Her piece for this exhibition is physically dark and explores deep human emotions. The selection of photographs being exhibited are based on Dutch portrait paintings. "The concept behind the work is rooted in appearance vs reality. Parents wishing to please their children offer to take them to the circus. The circus performers, wishing to please their audience prepare to put on a show. Unbeknownst to anybody involved, nobody is actually having any fun. But no one is willing to admit this to the other person. People put on different faces and different acts on a daily basis to gain something from situations and people. In some cases it may be something they simply have to do."

She has a refreshing take on her medium and approaches her subjects in a stark way. She has previously worked as a curator installing many shows. This perspective gives Maureen more experimental approach to her medium and a more logical and efficient use of space. We are looking forward to viewing her atmospheric piece this May. 

Artist Four: Iris O'Connor

Iris O'Connor is a photography and mixed media artist from Dun Laoghaire. She creates work that reinvents underestimated objects in our every day life and illustrates the beautiful aspects of these that their owners may take for granted. Her creations show her fascination with physical objects and the relationship that people have with them. Iris's pieces encourage the viewer to see beauty in the most ordinary objects. Her aesthetic approach gives her objects an essence of  

nostalgia and vibrant delicacy that gives the objects a new lease of life in the eyes of the viewer. We are so excited to have her work with us at our exhibition "The Circus of Bizzare Happenings" For more information on her work check out her website here.

Artist Three: Glenn Keelan

Glenn's inspiring works explore the human condition with all its imperfections and fragility. His intense and raw pieces are created using pencil, which is in our opinion incredible. Pencil has become such an underrated medium but Glen's work illustrates that it can be as effective and moving as any installation or oil painting.

Glenn Keelan is an artist from Rush that has a strong interest in the beauty and mechanics of nature. He is a born explorer that investigates the wonders of everyday life and the shares these experiences through his art.  It is apparent through his work that Glenn enjoys the little wonders in life and his drawings glow with passion and intrigue for his subjects. Aesthetically he creates dynamic and atmospheric drawings that make the viewer re-imagine the objects in the eyes of the artist. His subjects range from object such as still life, life drawing and found objects.” – Ruth O’Hagan, Project Manager The lost property project For more information on Glenn's work have a look at his website here.

Artist Two: Justin Wade

“Justin Wade is an artist currently living in the culturally thriving City of Galway. He works through film to translate stories that he feels passionately overwhelmed to share with his audience.  His pieces simultaneously resonates feelings of stillness and passion in its physical appearance and allegorically.  Justin is a very talented film maker that is inspired by artists that work through various mediums such as illustration, graphic novels, animation and film. He has an enthusiasm for life and people and this transcends through his work. He explores the human condition within his work and illustrates his findings of how people emotionally communicate with themselves and with others. This is Justin’s first time exhibiting his work with any gallery and we delighted to have his work with us this year as part of the ”The Circus Of Bizarre Happenings"" Ruth O’Hagan, The lost property project. 

Artist One: Ian Nolan

Ian Nolan graduated with a first Class Hons BFA from the National College of Art and Design in 2012 with a commendation for his original thesis “Outside of a Dog: A Phenomenological Perspective of the Built Environment”. His work deals specifically with the relationship between the individual and their environment and incorporates a wide variety of processes and mediums including external sculpture, installation, video performance and intervention. He has partaken in exhibitions in both the Netherlands and Ireland and has since been practicing and exhibiting as an artist in Dublin city and is co-director of the artists project group ArtHouse. This year he was chosen to complete a residency in New York. Ian is an artist that works with many found objects that he uses to create innovative installations that intrigue and challenge preconceptions of visual art. His objects bring a mystical and vibrant energy to the spaces they are found in.

 We are delighted to have him exhibiting with us this year as part of the lost property project's exhibition "The Circus of Bizarre Happenings" 

Introduction: Artists at The lost property project

Firstly our Mission: Provide artists with a temporary space to exhibit to the public with a chance for the audience to invest, view, and engage with emerging artists during the Wicklow Arts Festival that occurs annually from the 23-25^th of May in Wicklow Town. This year we will be open before the Festival from Monday 19th to Sunday 25th Of May.(On the right are photographs of the space before and during our exhibition.) 

A few words on the organiser: The exhibition and events that occur within the lost property project are organised by the project manager, Ruth O’Hagan. Ruth has seven years arts industry experience and has worked with organisations such as Axis Arts Centre Ballymun, Mermaid Arts Centre, Centre of Creative Practices and Visual Artists Ireland. She feels very passionately about all aspects of the arts in Ireland and enjoys working with artists to promote and encourage audiences to engage with their work. 

The artists involved: In 2013 The lost property project exhibited work by: 

• Ian Nolan 
• Nollaig Molloy 
• Lisa Burke
• Glenn Keelan
• Roisin Hackett
• Sorcha Hogan
• Evan Johnson
• Joy McGovern 
• Olwen Hogan
• Aisling Ni Chlaonadh 

We are very excited to announce that this year there are many artists returning as well as a number new emerging artists to the gallery. This blog gives details on each artist during the course of the exhibition. Watch this space!