Featuring work by Sara Flynn, Laura Gannon, Mainie Jellett, Richard Malone, Niamh O’Malley, Ceadogán Rugs and Mourne Textiles

www.makingandmomentum.com

Wexford County Council in partnership with Wexford Arts Centre is excited to present Making and Momentum: In Conversation with Eileen Gray, a touring exhibition curated by award winning Irish artist and designer, Richard Malone. The group exhibition, which celebrates the work of Eileen Gray and the influence of Irish art and design worldwide, launched at Roquebrune, France in June 2021 and travelled to the National Museum of Ireland last September.

The exhibition ambitiously places equal importance on the artist, artisan and maker – observing the creative spirit present in developing an independent visual language; removing the rigid definitions and categories of art making, much like Eileen Gray’s own practice.  Gray, who was born in Brownswood, Enniscorthy in 1878, was a pioneer of the Modernist movement and one of the most celebrated and influential designers and architects of the last century.

As part of this exhibition, Wexford County Council in partnership with Richard Malone and supported by Creative Ireland, will host a programme of workshops, talk and events for the general public and various communities of interest to engage with contemporary craft in Wexford focusing on work that is inspired by Eileen Gray’s legacy.

Artist and designer, Richard Malone, collaborated with Association Cap Moderne (the custodians of E-1027) to curate and exhibit some of Ireland’s leading visual art makers. The exhibition is in celebration of Gray’s phenomenal global influence across artistic disciplines – from weaving and rug making to metalwork and painting. Each artist and artisan has been selected for their multidisciplinary and experimental approach to making. The group represents an award winning selection of some or Ireland’s most prominent artists with numerous accolades amongst them, such as the Royal Hibernian Academy commission, the Loewe Craft Prize and the International Woolmark Prize.

The works presented in the exhibition are by Richard Malone; the ceramicist Sara Flynn; sculptor Niamh O’Malley who represents Ireland at Venice Biennale 2022; artist Laura Gannon; rugmakers Ceadogán; Mourne Textiles; Nellie Malone, the late grandmother of Richard Malone, and an archive work by the late abstract painter Mainie Jellet.

Collectively their work is held in some of the world’s most prestigious museums and institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) New York, the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) Dublin, The Design Museum London, the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) Melbourne and the Design and Crafts Council Collection Ireland.

The craft and skill visible within each body of work acknowledges age old skills and making techniques alongside radical modernism. The exhibition aims to prove that these skills and Gray’s own legacy, are part of our present, not our history.

This group exhibition is run in partnership by Association Cap Moderne and generously supported by Wexford County Council, Creative Ireland, Arts Council of Ireland, Design & Crafts Council Ireland, and Culture Ireland.