Opening Reception Thursday 5 June at 6:30pm

Gormleys Fine Art presents ‘On the Tightrope,’ a fascinating exhibition exploring the art of contemporary drawing by Dorothy Smith and Sahoko Blake.

Mick O’Dea RHA, in his foreword to the exhibition writes, “Smith and Blake are artists whose practice prioritises drawing as the tool for inquiry into the world around them. At a time when the definition of drawing is wide open, when any type of mark making is drawing by definition, it is refreshing to encounter the work of two artists who have built up a significant body of individual, sophisticated and intelligent drawings that have been honed from years of careful observation of the world around them. These observations have translated into careful, crisp and beautifully crafted drawings.”

Blake and Smith met at the drawing sessions that were held at the Royal Hibernian Academy back in 2000 and although their subject matters differ, their shared passion for drawing has brought them together for this exhibition.

Smith’s approach to drawing is analytical and she is fascinated by structure and construction. She takes her immediate urban environment as her subject, specifically the urban village of Phibsborough. She is interested in the symbiosis and antibiosis of the relationship between people and the built environment.

In contrast, Blake takes her subject matter from nature and the marine environment, specifically using sea creatures from the Wicklow coast as her point of departure. Blake is fascinated with the coastal environment and its inhabitants which is evident in her anatomical studies of various species. Her drawings of sea creatures and animal skulls have many of the characteristics of the drawings made by artists who accompanied the great explorers when seeking out new habitats, plants and animals. They are made in order to describe and understand as fully as possible.

The restless curiosity that both artists possess, in addition to the analytical and thorough nature of their research, has resulted in an exhibition of masterful drawings that offers fresh insights into the world that surrounds us while enriching and expanding the vocabulary of drawing in the process.

Sahoko Blake from Japan and Dorothy Smith from Dublin are artists who have honed and refined the art of contemporary drawing so that it speaks fluently and with penetration.