TEXTILE ARTISTS TRIO EXHIBITION

OPENS FRI APRIL 13TH 7.30PM

CLOSES SAT MAY 5TH

PRESS RELEASE

Solas Gallery proudly presents;

Three Threads; Three Artists.

Geraldine Beirne. Audrey Stanley. Alison Hunter.

Opening Friday 13th April at 7.30pm by Geraldine Gray.

On Friday 13th April Geraldine Gray, manager of the Leitrim Design House will open the trio exhibition of textile artists;  ‘Fragility in Nature’ by Geraldine Beirne, ‘Stories in Thread’ by Audrey Stanley and ‘Pieces’ by Alison Hunter.  Three different artists, one common thread; all work with fabric including felt and needlework.

Geraldine Beirne, a Leitrim native lining near Elphin, Roscommon takes a contemporary twist on the traditional handcrafts to create bespoke Textile Art pieces to enhance home or office, or as giftware for any occasion.

With fabrics, threads and fibres she encapsulates the rich diversity of the rural landscape and brings it to life with colour and texture through contemporary embroidery, fabric manipulation and felting. 

Her design inspiration comes from her love of this diverse landscape with its seasonal beauty of amazing colours, flora & fauna, coupled with the rich history of tradition and folklore and the old Irish crafts & designs.

Audrey Stanley is originally from Connemara and has been living in Sligo for many years.  

Her inspiration for ‘Stories in Thread’ came from the landscape, people, animals, poetry and folklore that surround her. In ‘Stories in Thread’ she characterises the layering of influences that string us together through familiar scenes and stories. 

While creating these textile art works she has embodied her chosen images with threads, paints, dyes and found objects.  She applies the techniques of free motion machine and hand embroidery to add depth and enhance detail.

Alison Hunter is an artist from Sligo. She graduated with a BA (Hons) Degree in Heritage Studies and Diploma in Textiles and draws her inspiration from vernacular houses and the natural landscape.

She uses natural woollen fibres with traditional wet felting and contemporary needle felting techniques to create her art works. 

 Alison’s work focuses on pieces of plates unearthed in ploughed fields and broken tableware. Those unearthed in fields have survived modern farming methods and remind us of our vernacular heritage and past. Everyday objects refusing to be forgotten.  Alison creates art works through the interpretation and re-imagining of patterns on these found plate pieces. Alison combines contrasting textures of found glazed pottery pieces and soft woollen fibres using traditional wet felting and contemporary needle felting techniques.

opening night

 We had a wonderful opening evening last Friday at the joint trio exhibition by textile artists; Audrey Stanley, Alison Hunter & Geraldine Beirne. The exhibition was officially opened by manager Geraldine Gray of the Leitirm Design House.