New Threads showcases more than 20 artworks that have recently come into public ownership, made possible though major acquisitions funding from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

The exhibition’s title is inspired by one of the featured artworks, Ariadne’s Thread (2013) by Jennifer Trouton, which borrows from an Ancient Greek myth and suggests an escape from the fabled Labyrinth. The painting provides a curious entry point from which visitors may follow – or tease out – new threads of practice and meaning in the collection.

Visitors to New Threads will also encounter an intricate ceramic work, Teasel – Grey Area (2019), by Nuala O’Donovan. In nature, the Teasel plant has received its common name from the use of its dried flowerhead in the textile industry ‘to tease’ (or raise the nap on) woollen cloth.

Artworks in New Threads range from the inimitable humour of Stephen Brandes’ Chat Show (2020) to the geometric colour of Tom Climent’s Eden (2019) to the intricate sculptural forms of Evgeniya Martirosyan and Nuala O’Donovan. There is more sobering work on view too, including Rita Duffy’s political Guantanamo amas amat (2009) and Meditating Tongqui (2020) by Stephen Doyle. The exhibition also features several paintings and prints by artists working in supported studios, including Yvonne Condon and Brianna Hurley.

In total, 225 artworks by 39 contemporary artists have been added to Crawford Art Gallery’s collection in recent months, ranging from paintings, photographs, prints, and drawings, to sculptures, installations, digital film and sound works, textile and embroideries.

Curated by Michael Waldron