Art exhibition at Nenagh Arts Centre
Visual artist Grace Roberts opened her latest exhibition, In Honour of Sarah II, at Nenagh Arts Centre last week.
The exhibition is dedicated to Roberts’ mother, Sarah, whose Limerick antique shop filled the artist’s childhood with objects, paintings and stories that continue to influence her work today.
Growing up surrounded by antiques and objects with history and character shaped Roberts’ fascination with memory, inheritance and the layered traces that connect past and present.
Working from her studio in County Clare, Roberts creates atmospheric paintings that move between landscape, figure and symbol, inviting viewers to reflect on the deeper influences that shape our lives.
Roberts begins with mixed-media on paper or board, building surfaces through successive marks and materials.
At times translucent encaustic wax is introduced, allowing earlier layers to glow through the image. Through a continual process of layering, cutting back and reworking, the paintings evolve in a quiet material alchemy where forms surface, dissolve and reappear. Each work retains the visible memory of its making — traces of earlier marks held beneath the skin of the painting.
In Honour of Sarah II continues a body of work first shown last year at Limerick Museum, where the exhibition was originally curated by the well-known contemporary artist Maurice Quillinan. While several of the works from that exhibition have since found new homes, the Nenagh exhibition introduces a substantial number of new pieces alongside those remaining works, extending and deepening the themes explored in the original show.
“Many of these paintings evolve slowly through layers,” Roberts says. “Images appear and disappear, much like memory itself. The work reflects on what we inherit, what we carry with us, and how we gradually become ourselves.”
Grace Roberts holds a degree in Visual Communication and has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions across Ireland.
The exhibition runs until April 8. All are welcome to attend.
Exhibition Details
Exhibition: In Honour of Sarah II
Artist: Grace Roberts
Venue: Nenagh Arts Centre, Banba Square, Nenagh
Admission: Free