'We want to feel the weight of things we can hold in our hands, an emotional connection. In a world that moves at speed, handmade belongings and small ceremonies are important (...), reminders perhaps of what is real. Alan Meredith has a feeling for what is real'. Stephen Tierney, Architect.
Following the critical success of his first solo exhibition in Ireland earlier this year, O’Connell Gallery is delighted to be showing selected highlights from the Quercu collection in Clonakilty.
‘Quercu’ – the oak – brings together a new body of work by Alan Meredith. The exhibition draws together separate, but related ideas that the artist has been exploring in his practice for several years. As if predetermined, the artist grew up at The Oak, the location of his ancestral farmlands in County Laois, and it is here that his studio and workshops are now based. The Oak is the site of making. It is also the dominant material in much of the artist’s work. The Residual Geometry series is hewn from a single tree that grew at that very same site. It is resurrected here as an interconnected body of furniture that closely echoes the form of its source material and is reflective of that place of origin. The Curio Cabinet series is a dramatic reinterpretation and rendering of a quotidian form. Encompassing work on a diverse scale, the cabinets range from the monumental to the compact, and reflect the artist’s success in realising sculptural pieces that confound and delight the viewer. The Dearcán vessels are amongst the most recognisable of Alan’s work and are perhaps the most emblematic of his continued dialogue with the material, testing its strength and limitations. Following the Golden Fleece Special Award last year, the exhibition includes the artist’s new large-scale pieces with their signature innovative folds.
Oak is also significant in terms of heritage and tradition, both national and artistic. Conscious of this, Alan Meredith carries forward a particular tradition of artists, craftspeople, and sculptors, realising forms inherent in their material. The body of work on show represents Alan’s steadfast pursuit of these forms, always striving to realise a sense of optimal balance.