In association with the Highlanes Gallery

Wexford Arts Centre are pleased to present A Further Enquiry – Love & Independence, an exhibition of new and recent work from one of Ireland’s most respected painters, Margaret Corcoran. The exhibition will run in the lower and upper galleries from Monday 19 October to Tuesday 24 November 2020.

Please note that this event will take place under current social distancing measurements as per Government guidelines. As part of our commitment to the continued well-being of our visitors, team members, and in an ongoing effort to assist our community in preventing the spread of COVID-19, we have implemented enhanced protocols and procedures you will notice before and during your visit. This includes hand sanitiser dispensers placed at key points throughout the centre, promoting a one-way experience that reinforces social distancing guidelines, and additional signage to promote hand washing and best hygiene practices. We request that all patrons wear a face mask when visiting. You can view all details regarding our COVID-19 protocols here.

The exhibition presents three strands of work and reflects areas of focus in Corcoran’s practice over the last two decades from The Enquiry Series as she explores her relationship to art and history through the Collection of the National Gallery of Ireland; to a series exploring Bhutan and specifically since the 1970s where the country has compiled an index of happiness as a way of measuring social contentment; and the third series stemming from photographs taken in Rwanda which offered the artist inspiration to explore aspects of a country emerging from a long history of colonisation and conflict.

Corcoran in her essay Painting in a Pandemic says of the Bhutan series – ‘The pandemic brought an intense period of self-reflection and healing for me.  I tried to imagine the kind of world that I would like to live in afterwards.  The quiet that came from the beginning stages was so beautiful – the quieting of the pace and the mind.  I found it notable how reassuring it was to be so intimately connected to others by the act of painting. Just the observation of skin tones and the regard for the posture or gesture taken by a fellow human being was a great source of connection.  I was grateful to have this heightened appreciation of the world and its inhabitants – by painting them, by recording them.’

Margaret Corcoran has exhibited in both group and solo exhibitions at home and abroad since 1999. In 2003, she won the Golden Fleece Award for her painting An Enquiry II: A Moment of Youth. Corcoran holds a Masters in Fine Art Painting from the National College of Art and Design and her work is in the collections of the Office of Public Works, Trinity College Dublin and the Arts Council of Ireland. Corcoran is represented by the Kevin Kavanagh Gallery in Dublin.

Commissioned by the Highlanes Gallery, the exhibition received an Arts Council Touring & Dissemination Award and is presented in partnership with Custom House Gallery & Studios, Westport, where it will travel to in spring 2021.

A full colour catalogue accompanies the exhibition with texts by Sean Rainbird, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, art historians Yvonne Scott and Zaena Sheehan, Seán Hoy, Ambassador of Ireland to Brazil, and the artist Margaret Corcoran. It is designed by Neil Gordon and Ismael Kepp of 256Media.

Gallery hours: Monday-Saturday from 10am-4pm

A Further Enquiry – Love & Independence is supported by an Arts Council Touring & Dissemination Award. Wexford Arts Centre is supported by the Arts Council and Wexford County Council.

For further information on A Further Enquiry – Love & Independence or artist Margaret Corcoran contact Catherine Bowe – Curator, Wexford Arts Centre, Cornmarket, Wexford on +353 (0)53 91 23764 or email catherine@wexfordartscentre.ie