Energy Made Visible is a group exhibition centred around the paintings of Michael Ashur (1950-2024). Known for his meticulous airbrushed compositions, Ashur’s work is concerned with solar systems, celestial bodies, and overlaps between artistic and scientific disciplines. This exhibition at Ormston House, Limerick, places Ashur’s work in dialogue with four contemporary Irish artists. Contributions from Ann Maria Healy, Sean Lynch, Thaís Muniz, and Garrett Phelan activate and expand upon Ashur’s enigmatic paintings.

Born in 1950 and raised in Dublin, the artist (then known as Michael Byrne) commenced his studies at the National College of Art and Design in the late 1960s. Upon leaving NCAD, Byrne assumed the pseudonym Ashur, after a Babylonian sky god. The visual novelty of his work and its capacity to capture both eye and imagination were central to Ashur’s initial success.

Ashur’s early works show an awareness of international painting and he is one of the few Irish representatives of the shaped canvas movement. His paintings exemplify a tendency seen throughout the twentieth century, whereby artists embraced novel materials and technologies – in this case, acrylic paint and airbrush – to pioneer innovative vocabularies.