The Hunt Museum: 7 June 2005 :: Summer Exhibition

Press Release

Shades of Light - Evocations of Summer

7 June 2005

Shades of Light - Evocations of Summer
Works by: Lavery, Leech, Osborne, Solomons and Æ
June 8^th - October 16^th 2005

William Leech, Paper Parasols

'The gladness of a summer day ...' is a quotation used by Brendan Rooney in his Introduction to the catalogue for Shades of Light - Evocations of Summer the 2005 exhibition organized by The Hunt Museum, Limerick. The exhibition was opened by Lochlann Quinn, Chairman, National Gallery of Ireland, on Tuesday, June 7^th.

The exhibition explores all the 'gladness' that is summer - a time for leisure and relaxation as well as more energetic activities. This exhibition includes work by Sir John Lavery, William Leech, Walter Osborne, Estella Solomons and Æ. It seeks to explore all the ways in which artists have responded to evocations of summer - visually, emotionally, intellectually and aesthetically. Speaking at the opening this evening, Virginia Teehan, Director of the Hunt Museum said, 'We want to make this exhibition exceptional by concentrating exclusively on works of Irish art which are considered some of the most poetic and evocative images of summer ever produced'. Most the twenty-four works included in the show are from leading private collections which are normally inaccessible to the public. Some of which have never before been exhibited in public.

Sir John Lavery, The Red Hammock

For many summer is a hazy evocation of memory, details are not clearly defined, we often remember colours, sounds and scents - such moods are reflected in these paintings - where the everyday possess a poetic quality. All of the artists included in this exhibition are exceptional in their use of light and shade, many of Sir John Lavery's works radiate with light and heat while William Leech's Breton scenes are animated by dappled sunlight.

Walter Osborne's The Moon Rising over Galway Bay features the changing, unpredictable light of Irish summer skies. Shade is as remarkable in these paintings as light, giving the works a quality which counters the strong sunlight and setting the works aside qualities which make them special.

Teehan also said today at the opening 'Given that the Hunt Museum is built around a private collection, we decided to continue the policy of making private collections publicly accessible to our temporary exhibitions. Last year's show, Jack B. Yeats: Master of Ceremonies was extraordinarily successful bringing in 13,500 visitors to the exhibition over a ten-week period. In fact, due to popularity of the Yeats exhibition in 2004 and in response to requests by schools and other special interest groups, we have agreed to extend the exhibition to mid-October. Shades of Light - Evocations of Summer will run for 18 weeks. It opens on June 8⁸ and continues until October 16^th 2005.