In art the term painting describes both the act and the result, which is called a painting
This exhibition launches four new artists to KTcontemporary – Mary Galvin, Kate Molloy, Ramon Kassam and Denise Kehoe. Working in a variety of media (painting, installation and sculpture) all four of these artists explore different ideas of perception within art. Their diverse practices are rooted in investigating the nature and materiality of their chosen genre, the transformative element and positioning of the art object, and the participatory aspect of the artist and their engagement with art history, contemporary art and the world around us. Examining the validity of the ordinary and the cyclical temperament of art making, these artists produce very individual work with a commonality based on sincere insight.
Ramon Kassam graduated from Limerick School of Art and Design in 2007 with a first class honours degree in Fine Art. He recently exhibited as part of the group show Transitive Relationships at the Limerick City Gallery of Art and is currently working from a studio at Bedford Creative Arts in the UK. Painting forms the basis of Kassam's practice and he employs a variety of approaches to it, drawing on an intuitive engagement with the rich tradition of painting and incorporating elements and genres bound to it.
Mary Galvin recently completed her MFA at Crawford College of Art, Cork. In 2009 she was awarded the CIT purchase prize and last year she participated in the group exhibition The State of The Union at Occupy Space, Limerick. Galvin's practice centres on the potentiality of found objects and our relationship with the physical materiality of our everyday world. She aims to direct our attention to the 'quiet', unfolding drama of an 'ordinary' event, challenging prescribed roles and embracing a more expansive, liberated existence.
Denise Kehoe graduated with a first class honours BA from Crawford College of Art and Design in 2011 and was awarded the CIT Presidents Award for her degree show. She was also awarded a solo exhibition as part of the Art Trail Graduate Award. Kehoe's practice is concerned with questioning the value and accessibility of contemporary art and the sincerity of the artist. She addresses the viewer with word play, loud tactics and colloquial language, reflecting on mass media bombardment and the elitist barriers that often surround contemporary art.
Kate Molloy recently completed her BA Fine Art in Painting at the Galway Mayo Institute of Technology. In 2011 she participated in the group exhibition Trust at the Niland Gallery in Galway and she is currently a member of Engage Art Studios. Molloy's practice is a combination of abstract drawings and paintings that are generally small in scale. The work is based on subtle elements of the everyday, captured on camera and then transformed into artworks. She is primarily concerned with the physical placement and positioning of art that lends itself to the creation of conversation.
