Opening Reception Tuesday 30 July at 7pm

Meath County Council Arts Office is delighted to host an exhibition of work by Carol O’Connor and Mette Sofia Roche in the Toradh Gallery, Ashbourne Library and Cultural Centre from Tuesday July 30th to August 27th.

The Toradh Gallery, in the Ashbourne Library and Cultural Centre, is proud to have hosted exhibitions by local, national and international artists as well as touring exhibitions from the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Arts Council.

This new and exciting exhibition of work is a joint exhibition by Meath based artists Carol O’Connor and Mette Sofie Roche and will open on Tuesday July 30th at 7pm.

Carol O’Connor is a graduate of the National College of Art and Design and has had four solo exhibitions in Ireland, most recently in Dunamaise Arts Centre and Signal Arts Centre. A recipient of the “Going Solo” art award from Meath County Council in 2009, Carol has work in the collections of AXA Insurance, the Office of Public Works, Meath County Council and Bank of Ireland.

“My work has arisen out of a need to paint. It is a personal response to the world I inhabit. It attempts to describe through colour and images, a sense of longing, the need to feel secure and the desire to escape.”

Mette Sofie Roche has lived in Ireland for more than 30 years but is originally from North-Norway. Every artist has a story to tell and Mette’s art work is a personal journey. Her paintings, while they may have some recognisable aspect of f. i. a landscape are drawn from what is stored in her memory where some distortion and layering takes place over time. They are a play on reality.

Research into the cultural traditions, beliefs and myths of the Samé People, her ancestors, has also given direction to her work. The Samé people, living close to nature, have a strong symbolic language in terms of vibrant colours, costumes, traditions and myths. However it is a culture in transition, with influences from many different directions both religious, political and economic.

“Only traces are sometimes left of the ancient traditions and the knowledge of nature so vital to a traditional Samé community.”

The Toradh Gallery is proud to host this exhibition of work and delighted to showcase the work of talented Meath based artists.