WORK IN PROGRESS FEATURING ALISON LOWRY, NI
Work In Progress is an exhibition of applied arts by the six participants on CraftNI's Making IT scheme. The exhibitors are Katie Brown (screen printed textiles), Eamonn Higgins (sculpture), Diane Lyness (silversmith), Alison Lowry (fused glass), Catherine Keenan (blown glass), and Michelle Stephens (weave).

The exhibition continues at CraftNI (opposite the Merchant) until 31st August 2012.

W: http://craftni.org/events/making-it-work-in-progress/

AOIFE SODEN AND TREVOR HUGHES IN THE FLANEUR

The Flâneur is a recent graduate mixed media exhibition taking place at the Oliver Cornet Gallery, Dublin. The exhibition is curated by Kate Howard and includes pieces by National College of Art and Design graduates Aoife Soden and Trevor Hughes. The exhibition continues until 31st August 2012.  

E: info@olivercornetgallery.com
W: www.oliviercornetgallery.com

KAREN DONNELLAN SOLO EXHIBITION, BUFFALO
Karen Donnellan creates work that is about process and material. Working primarily in glass, her creative method results in an object that is both true to a physical material origin but also suggests a potential for something naturally generated. Works in this solo exhibition entitled Essentia will include those made during a recently completed Bullseye residency. Donnellan is a native of Ireland and MFA candidate at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Essentia will show at the Burchfield Penney Art Centre, Buffalo State College, NY, from 10th August 2012 until 27th January 2013.

T: 00 1 716 878 6011
E: burchfld@buffalostate.edu
W: www.karendonnellan.com
W: www.burchfieldpenney.org

RDS NATIONAL CRAFT COMPETITION AND STUDENT AWARDS
The RDS National Crafts Competition aims to promote the practice of craft in Ireland and to encourage the highest standards of design and technique in both traditional and contemporary craft disciplines. With categories such as ceramics, glass, furniture and textiles, the competition is a unique opportunity for craft workers and designers to have their work appraised by an independent jury of experts and to compete for prestigious awards and prizes.

Catherine Keenan was awarded 1st Prize in the Glass category and also received the National Crafts and Design Fair of Ireland Award. Also exhibiting are Scott Benefield, Aoife Soden, Eva Kelly, Sinead Brennan and Michael Ray. Alison Lowry was awarded 2nd Prize in the Glass category.

2012 RDS National Crafts Competition and Student Art Awards Exhibition
During the Discover Ireland Dublin Horse Show from August 15-19, an entry fee applies and opening times vary.  

September 21 – October 14                                                                                          
Rathcroghan Visitors Centre, Cruachan Aí, Tulsk, Co. Roscommon www.rathcroghan.ie

October 28 - November 18
Castlecomer Discovery Park, The Estate Yard, Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny www.discoverypark.ie

W: www.rds.ie

YOUNG & LOVING: RETROSPECTIVE 7-11, NORWAY, FEAT. ALISON LOWRY

From 10th August until 16th September 2012 Alison Lowry will exhibit in Young & Loving: Retrospective 7-11 with at the S12 Galleri & Verksted, Bergen. Through their sculptures, installations, and pictures, the exhibiting artists address a number of themes, such as childhood and recollection (eg. Ingrid Nord’s ‘Sutteklut’ and Alison Lowry’s ‘Found (and lost)’ and ‘What little girls are made of’), body, place, and identity, poetic studies in media and visually philosophical ruminations on the natural sciences (eg. Stine Bidstrup’s ‘Let Your Eyes Be the Invention’ and Julia Malle’s ‘Rhizome’). A common trait amongst these artists is that they play with light and shadow. Another seems to be investigating the relationship between reality and illusion, reality and perception, or reality and dream/memory.

T: 00 47 55 315 310
E: post@s12.no
W: www.s12.no
W: www.alisonlowry.co.uk

RÓISÍN DE BUITLÉAR, RHA ANNUAL EXHIBITION, DUBLIN
 
Showing at the 182nd RHA annual exhibition Ely Place Dublin until 18th August 2012 is Róisín de Buitléar. Her piece in the exhibition entitled Union is a commentary on striking glass workers and the effect of closures of glass manufacturers.

W: http://www.rhagallery.ie/html/exhibitions/exhibit_annual.html
W: www.roisindebuitlear.com

CONTEMPORARY GLASS SOCIETY INVITES SUBMISSIONS TO EXHIBIT, UK

Two important new exhibitions of world-class glass art are about to mark a renewed interest in a medium that beautifully blurs the boundaries between fine art, craft and design.

Hot Glass: new work from the furnace will be dedicated to the best in contemporary blown, hot-worked and sand-cast glass and takes place at London’s Contemporary Applied Arts (CAA) gallery next spring. Hot Glass, a collaboration between CAA and the Contemporary Glass Society, will present a dynamic mix of new work from some of the world’s most talented artists.

New Glass: Ancient Skill, Contemporary Artform will focus on the skill and creativity of today’s glassmakers in an exhibition at the stunning Blackwell Arts and Crafts house in Bowness-on-Windermere. New Glass, jointly organised with the Lakeland Arts Trust (LAT), will run from January to April next year. It will showcase the best of glassmakers’ skills and artistic vision in synergy with the house and its history. The exhibition will also reveal something of the hidden processes that underpin the glassmaker’s art. Drawings, models and photographic documentation of processes will be presented alongside the work selected for the show.

Both exhibitions are being organised by the Contemporary Glass Society as part of Glass Skills – the second stage of a two-year project to put contemporary glass on the map. The programme began this summer with more than 70 glass events inspired by the Olympic games. Glass Skills follows on with a year-long celebration of the imagination and talent of contemporary glassmakers and their role in keeping ancient skills alive. Artists are now being invited to submit work and proposals.

W: www.cgs.org.uk

AESTHETICA ART PRIZE

The Aesthetica Art Prize is a celebration of excellence in art from across the world and is hosted by Aesthetica Magazine, an internationally recognised art and culture publication. With a portfolio of prizes including a place in the Aesthetica Art Exhibition in 2013, editorial coverage in Aesthetica Magazine, publication in the Aesthetica Art Anthology and up to £1000 in cash, the Prize is an excellent opportunity for artists at all stages of their careers to share their art with a discerning worldwide audience and raise their profile in the international art scene.

Four shortlisted artists and four student artists will be selected for exhibition in spring 2013. Artists working in across all disciplines are welcome to submit work and the categories for entry include Photographic & Digital Art, Three Dimensional Design & Sculpture, Painting & Drawing, Installation & Performance.

Entry costs £15 and permits the submission of two pieces into any one category. There are no age requirements for the Aesthetica Art Prize and no formal qualifications needed. Art does not need to have been exhibited previously, nor do previous exhibitions preclude your work from selection; however, work submitted must be available for an exhibition in the Spring of 2013. The deadline for entry is 31 August 2012.
 
W:  http://www.aestheticamagazine.com/artprize.htm

BLOWN AND THROWN EXHIBITION BY CATHERINE KEENAN AND ADAM FREW

Potter Adam Frew and glassblower Catherine Keenan both express a fascination with colour in their work. Adam makes colour intrinsic to a piece by staining clay and has developed a ‘double walled’ throwing technique to have different layers of colour breaking through in his surface drawings. Catherine uses a variety of glass blowing techniques of colour and pattern application in order to ‘uplift’ the viewer.

Blown and Thrown exhibition takes place at The Loft Gallery, Portaferry Tourist Information and Visitor Centre until 28th July 2012.

T: 028 9182 6846
W: http://ardscreates.com/events/view/07/07/12/blown-thrown-an-exhibition-by-catherine-keenan-and-adam-frew

KAREN DONNELLAN, EUROPEAN PRIZE FOR APPLIED ARTS

The European Prize for Applied Arts 2012 World Crafts Council Mixed Media exhibition, featuring Karen Donnellan in Young Talents, takes place at the Grand Halle Des Anciens Abattoirs De Mons, Belgium, from 14th July to 9th September 2012. Objects and furniture design, textile design, contemporary ceramics, jewellery and silversmithing, glass, and metalwork from both craft masters and emerging artists are included. Established designers and young talents interact thanks to an exhibition design from entrusted to Evelyne Gilmont, a designer from Brussels teaching at the School of Plastic and Visual Arts of Mons.

T: 00 32 65 846 467
E: wccbf@wcc-bf.org
W: www.wcc-bf.org
W: www.karendonnellan.com

GLASMUSEUM EBELTOFT OPEN CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL GROUP EXHIBITION

Glasmuseet Ebeltoft is proud to announce an open call for an international group exhibition entitled Bodytalk. This exhibition will take place between 5th April and 2nd November 2014. Artists at any career stage are welcome to submit. Objects can incorporate various materials but must contain an element of glass. The deadline for entries is 1st December 2012.

W: http://www.glasmuseet.dk/en2010/exhibitions/forthcoming/bodytalk.html
W: www.glasmuseet.dk
E: pia@glasmuseet.dk

CONTEMPORARY GLASS SOCIETY INVITES SUBMISSIONS TO EXHIBIT, UK

Two important new exhibitions of world-class glass art are about to mark a renewed interest in a medium that beautifully blurs the boundaries between fine art, craft and design.

Hot Glass: new work from the furnace will be dedicated to the best in contemporary blown, hot-worked and sand-cast glass and takes place at London’s Contemporary Applied Arts (CAA) gallery next spring. Hot Glass, a collaboration between CAA and the Contemporary Glass Society, will present a dynamic mix of new work from some of the world’s most talented artists.

New Glass: Ancient Skill, Contemporary Artform will focus on the skill and creativity of today’s glassmakers in an exhibition at the stunning Blackwell Arts and Crafts house in Bowness-on-Windermere. New Glass, jointly organised with the Lakeland Arts Trust (LAT), will run from January to April next year. It will showcase the best of glassmakers’ skills and artistic vision in synergy with the house and its history. The exhibition will also reveal something of the hidden processes that underpin the glassmaker’s art. Drawings, models and photographic documentation of processes will be presented alongside the work selected for the show.

Both exhibitions are being organised by the Contemporary Glass Society as part of Glass Skills – the second stage of a two-year project to put contemporary glass on the map. The programme began this summer with more than 70 glass events inspired by the Olympic games. Glass Skills follows on with a year-long celebration of the imagination and talent of contemporary glassmakers and their role in keeping ancient skills alive. Artists are now being invited to submit work and proposals.

W: www.cgs.org.uk

CONTEMPORARY GLASS SOCIETY CALL FOR EUROPEAN ARTISTS, ONLINE EXHIBITION

The title of the next Contemporary Glass Society online exhibition is Statements and Questions – European Sculpture. Sculptor Pilar Aldana-Mendez will select and curate the works for this exhibition of European glass sculpture.

Glass artists based in Europe are now being asked to submit entries. This opportunity is open to both members and non-members of the Contemporary Glass Society. Artists must reside in Europe (this show does not include artists based in the UK). The deadline for submission is 27th July 2012. Please email submissions and include one image only of your sculpture in JPEG format. The application must include: artist’s name, country of residence, contact email, title of work, year, size, photography credit, and description of work (e.g. technique, materials used, context for this exhibition, etc.).

E: cgsweb@hotmail.co.uk
W: www.cgs.org.uk

IRISH GLASS 'ELEMENTS' REPRESENTED AT SHANGHAI ART FAIR

Professor Zhuang Xiaowei, Professor of Glass in the Glass Studio of the Fine Arts College in Shanghai University and Director of the Glass Museum of Shanghai, visited Cork late last year and subsequently invited Irish artists to exhibit their work in Shanghai in the New International Glass Exhibition that is to be part of the Shanghai Art Fair.

The Fair will take place 10th - 14th May as part of Art Shanghai with the exhibition 'Elements' curated by Mary Mackey.

Irish glass is represented at the fair by Sean Campbell, Aoife Soden, Mary Mackey, Alison Lowry, Andrea Spencer, Róisín De Buitléar, Debbie Dawson and Michael Ray.

ART Shanghai 2012 will be held in Hongqiao New Town Central Park based on its location in Hongqiao Development Zone and its ecological natural environment.

W: http://www.craftinireland.com/events/details/art-shanghai-with-elements-curated-by-mary-mackey/

ANDREA SPENCER AT THE BRITISH GLASS BIENNALE

The UK's major exhibition of contemporary glass has announced its exhibitors for 2012. This year 71 artists will exhibit at the fifth British Glass Biennale, including Andrea Spencer. She will be the only representative from Northern Ireland. The exhibition will take place from 24th August until 15th September 2012 at Stourbridge, West Midlands.

W: www.biennale.org.uk

ENGAGING WITH GLASS, TRAVER GALLERY, TACOMA

The Traver Gallery in Tacoma is proud to serve as the only United States venue for Engaging with Glass; the first comprehensive survey of Irish glass art in over a decade. The exhibition brings together a broad spectrum of work in glass, ranging from beautifully executed decorative objects to conceptual installation pieces incorporating video elements.

Originally presented at the Solstice Arts Center in Meath, Ireland, Engaging with Glass was organized by Solstice director Belinda Quirke, along with artists Caroline Madden and Deirdre Rogers. Irish artists working at home or abroad, as well as foreign artists living and working in Ireland, are included in the exhibition, which was juried by Dr. Audrey Whitty, Curator of Ceramics, Glass and Asian Collections at the National Museum of Ireland and Tina Oldknow, Curator of Modern Glass at the Corning Museum of Glass.

In essays included in the full-color catalog produced alongside the exhibition, juror Audrey Whitty notes that the show reflects an international trend to marry concept with an exceptional level of technical skill, while Tina Oldknow highlights two major themes seen in the show: narrative work addressing memory and time and objects exploring various perspectives on abstraction.

Seattle artist Paula Stokes, whose work is included in the show, was instrumental in bringing Engaging with Glass to the United States. After traveling to Ireland to attend the exhibition opening in Meath, Stokes was convinced that the work deserved to be seen by a wider audience and approached the Travers about mounting the show in their Tacoma location. Working with Solstice Art Center director Belinda Quirke, Stokes secured funding from Culture Ireland and the Crafts Council of Ireland to bring the exhibition to Tacoma.

The Seattle/Tacoma arts community has shown a great deal of enthusiasm for the exhibition, and several public programs have been developed around it. Dr. Caroline Madden, one of the exhibition's organizers and an artist featured in the exhibition, will teach a Master Artist class at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle from April 13 - 15. Madden will also be featured as an Artist in Residence at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma from April 18 - 20.

 
T: 00 1 253 383 3685
E: tacoma@travergallery.com
W: www.travergallery.com

CATHERINE KEENAN AND ALISON LOWRY, CRAFT & DESIGN COLLECTIVE, BELFAST
Commemorate is the title of a mixed media exhibition which includes the work of Catherine Keenan and Alison Lowry. The exhibition will run until 28th April 2012 in Space CRAFT, Craft & Design Collective, Belfast.

T: 028 9032 9342.
E: info@craftanddesigncollective.com
W: www.craftanddesigncollective.com

THREE x 3, BELFAST

The Engine Room Gallery in Belfast hosts Three x 3; an exhibition of work by Andrea Spencer, Sean Campbell and Scott Benefield. The exhibition aims to bring contemporary studio glass to a wider audience. Three x 3 was first exhibited at Craft NI Display Space for August Craft Month 2010 before touring widely and is now returning to Belfast. Though the three artists involved work with different techniques and address completely different subject matter, they have come together to address the relative scarcity of artistic glass on exhibition.

This exhibition is supplemented by an educational display that presents the history of glass as an artistic medium, explains the beginnings and significance of the global studio glass movement, and offers information about the particular glassmaking techniques that are on view in the exhibition spaces. There are also videos of the artists at work in their studios as they create some of the pieces included in the show. The exhibition runs from 5th to 28th April 2012.

T: 028 9045 5184
E: info@engineroomgallery.com
W: http://craftni.org/events/three-x-3-contemporary-studio-glass/

ELEMENTS & TELLING TALES, SHANGHAI

Elements and Telling Tales are two exhibitions by contemporary Irish and Chinese artists which open in Shanghai on 16th March 2012. These exhibitions have a strong representation of artists from Cork and are part of Irish Wave 2012, organised by Fion Gunn.

Elements is an exhibition of contemporary glass and ceramics, curated by Mary Mackey, in association with Kevin Callaghan and Professor Xiaowei Zhuang. Telling Tales is a multi-media exhibition of Irish and Chinese artists, curated by Fion Gunn.

W: www.bigsmallartists.com

KEEP GOING SURE IT’S GRAND, SOLOMON FINE ART GALLERY, DUBLIN

'Keep Going Sure It’s Grand' is a group exhibition of affordable artworks by over 30 different Irish painters, sculptors, print-makers, ceramists and glass-makers. Each of the specially commissioned, small and beautiful works of art are priced between €330 - €1200. Glass makers Killian Schurmann, Roisín de Buitléar, Sean Campbell, Sarah McEvoy, Karen Donnellan, Greg Sullivan, Paula Stokes, Alison Lowry, and Vivienne Roche all have works in the show. The exhibition runs from 9th to 30th March 2012 at Solomon Fine Art gallery, Balfe Street, Dublin 2.

W: www.solomonfineart.ie