Darkness and Light: Landscapes from the Cork County Council art collection

Cork County Council’s Library and Arts Service is opening its final exhibition of 2020, Darkness and Light: Landscapes from the Cork County Council art collection. This exhibition features fourteen paintings, drawing and prints by eight artists and will run until 9th January 2021 in the Library Headquarters (LHQ) Gallery on Carrigrohane Road.

The starting point for this exhibition was the series of prints by renowned artist William Crozier, which also includes a print of the poem Peninsula by Séamus Heaney. Crozier, born in Glasgow in 1930, lived in West Cork from the 1980s until his death in 2011. Crozier’s works are a contrast between stark black lines and saturated swathes of colour which are echoed in Heaney’s poem.

Building on this foundation, small, bright landscapes with varying degrees of abstraction have been selected by Cork County Council’s Arts Office to create a space for contemplation.  

Works by Aidan Linehan, Éilis O’Connell, Michael Canning and Michael Beirne point to an ancient landscape full of stories, memories and dreams, with an evening light illuminating from Canning’s botanical inspired work, while the colour bursts of paintings by Cóilín Murray, Katherine Boucher Beug and Deirdre Crowley encourage optimism and play. The relationship between people and nature is further explored by the depictions of two very different gardens in this exhibition; one full of fantastical imagery by Michael Beirne and one an abstract walled garden by Katherine Boucher Beug.

Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr. Mary Linehan Foley welcomed the reopening of the exhibition at LHQ gallery, and the enjoyment that can be experienced by visiting, saying,

“This exhibition facilitates a connection not just with the works themselves, but with the landscapes and cultural legacy of Cork County. With the current Covid 19 pandemic and the usual bustle associated with this time of year, I encourage anyone who find themselves in the area to take the time for rest and contemplation by enjoying this wonderful exhibition.”

Darkness and Light: Landscapes from the Cork County Council art collection is open in at the County Library Building, Carrigrohane Road, Cork, from 10.00 am to 1.00 pm and 2.00pm to 5.30 pm (Closed 1.00 - 2.00 pm) Monday to Friday, closed Mondays of bank holiday weekends. The exhibition is subject to public health guidelines.