Taking as its starting point the theme of artistic, social and political flux engendered by the 1916 Rising, The Artist as Witness in Society was a substantial exhibition drawn from the Hugh Lane’s prodigious collection. This exhibition saw the galleries rehung with a new selection of work offering diverse perspectives on how artists have depicted the changing world around them; how they have engaged with conflict and the liminal in society; and how artists have explored new ways of seeing. The exhibition included work ranging from the Impressionists, to the Cubist-inspired paintings of Evie Hone and Mainie Jellett dismissed in their own time as ‘artistic malaria’; and to the searing studies of the conflict in Northern Ireland by Rita Donagh and Willie Doherty among others. New acquisitions including A 2007 portrait of the 11 Irish Dunnes Stores strikers by Garrett Phelan and Wall of Death Hell Rider by Brian Duggan were also exhibited. The Artist as Witness in Society: Collection was curated by Jessica O’Donnell.
Associated Events
High Treason: Roger Casement
High Treason: Roger Casement
