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This exhibition with its unlikely combination of two artists, Siobhan Hapaska and Stephen McKenna, provides a timely opportunity to showcase two highly individual positions on contemporary sculpture and painting.

Siobhán Hapaska is a mid career artist whose work is charged with a number of cultural and socio-political issues. Often difficult to categorize, her work is a poetic play of imagery and ideas that forge discordant connections. It’s a complex interweaving of narrative that is articulated through a lexicon of materials incorporating extraordinary objects that range from light to magnets, tumble weeds to selenite. Siobhán Hapaska will present three new sculptures each of which resonate with historical references and the contemporary human condition of displacement and loss while crucially retaining her personal signature of humour and hope.

Stephen McKenna, now 73, is a painter whose work is equally difficult to categorize. Since long before his influential solo shows at Modern Art Oxford (1983) and Institute of Contemporary Art, London (1985) McKenna has remained impervious to changing art fashions with pictorial references ranging from classical antiquity to the time-honoured genres of the still life, the interior, the landscape and the seascape. McKenna draws on the hard won skills and knowledge of the history of painting to create contemporary works that not only never fail to intrigue and fascinate but not surprisingly have the wherewithal to stand the test of time. Selected paintings from 1970 to the present will form the content of this exhibition.

Hapaska has had solo exhibitions in recent years at Andréhn-Schiptjenko Gallery, Stockholm, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York and Camden Arts Centre, London. She has also participated in various group exhibitions at venues such as Kunsthaus Graz, Austria, Musée d’Art Moderne de Saint Etienne, Musée d’art moderne at contemporain, Toulouse, France, Deste Foundation, Athens and Magasin 3, Stockholm. In 1997, she took part in Documenta X and in 2001 she represented Ireland at the Venice Biennale.

McKenna has had major solo exhibitions at the Modern Art Oxford, Stadtische Kunsthalle, Dusseldorf, the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Ca di Fra, Milan and the Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin. Most recent exhibitions include The Paradise [36], Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin, Ever Since I Put Your Picture In A Frame, 42 Carlton Place, Glasgow, Brillianfeuerwerk, Haus der Kunst, Munich and Tate Britain, Turner Prize Retrospective. In 1982, He participated in Documenta 7 and his work is represented in the collections of the Tate Gallery, London, the Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Staedtische Sammlungen, Rheinhausen, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels and Fries Museum, Leeuwarden, Netherlands.
 

Selected Works

Selected Works Thumbnails
Four Angels
Siobhán Hapaska
Four Angels, 2012
selenite, aluminium, forged aluminium fittings, concrete cloth, LEDs and electrical components
150 x 100 x 100 cm / 59.1 x 39.4 x 39.4 in 
Siobhán Hapaska
Four Angels, 2012
selenite, aluminium, forged aluminium fittings, concrete cloth, LEDs and electrical components
150 x 100 x 100 cm / 59.1 x 39.4 x 39.4 in 
Siobhán Hapaska
Four Angels, 2012
selenite, aluminium, forged aluminium fittings, concrete cloth, LEDs and electrical components
150 x 100 x 100 cm / 59.1 x 39.4 x 39.4 in 
Siobhán Hapaska
Four Angels, 2012
selenite, aluminium, forged aluminium fittings, concrete cloth, LEDs and electrical components
150 x 100 x 100 cm / 59.1 x 39.4 x 39.4 in 
Siobhán Hapaska
Four Angels, 2012
selenite, aluminium, forged aluminium fittings, concrete cloth, LEDs and electrical components
150 x 100 x 100 cm / 59.1 x 39.4 x 39.4 in 
Siobhán Hapaska
Four Angels, 2012
selenite, aluminium, forged aluminium fittings, concrete cloth, LEDs and electrical components
150 x 100 x 100 cm / 59.1 x 39.4 x 39.4 in 
Four Angels

Siobhán Hapaska
Four Angels, 2012
selenite, aluminium, forged aluminium fittings, concrete cloth, LEDs and electrical components
150 x 100 x 100 cm / 59.1 x 39.4 x 39.4 in 

Inquire
For Eyes that are Full
Siobhán Hapaska
For Eyes That Are Full, 2012
vegetable tanned leather, pheasant feathers, brass and silver solder and waxed linen thread
107 x 50 x 40 cm / 42.1 x 19.7 x 15.7 in 
Siobhán Hapaska
For Eyes That Are Full, 2012
vegetable tanned leather, pheasant feathers, brass and silver solder and waxed linen thread
107 x 50 x 40 cm / 42.1 x 19.7 x 15.7 in 
Siobhán Hapaska
For Eyes That Are Full, 2012
vegetable tanned leather, pheasant feathers, brass and silver solder and waxed linen thread
107 x 50 x 40 cm / 42.1 x 19.7 x 15.7 in 
Siobhán Hapaska
For Eyes That Are Full, 2012
vegetable tanned leather, pheasant feathers, brass and silver solder and waxed linen thread
107 x 50 x 40 cm / 42.1 x 19.7 x 15.7 in 
Siobhán Hapaska
For Eyes That Are Full, 2012
vegetable tanned leather, pheasant feathers, brass and silver solder and waxed linen thread
107 x 50 x 40 cm / 42.1 x 19.7 x 15.7 in 
For Eyes that are Full

Siobhán Hapaska
For Eyes That Are Full, 2012
vegetable tanned leather, pheasant feathers, brass and silver solder and waxed linen thread
107 x 50 x 40 cm / 42.1 x 19.7 x 15.7 in 

Inquire
So Do you Have Any Regrets
Siobhán Hapaska
So, Do You Have Any Regrets?, 2012
resin eagle skulls, resin eagle feet, rabbit fur, fox tail, Persian lamb skin, leather, aluminium and steel
Siobhán Hapaska
So, Do You Have Any Regrets?, 2012
resin eagle skulls, resin eagle feet, rabbit fur, fox tail, Persian lamb skin, leather, aluminium and steel
Siobhán Hapaska
So, Do You Have Any Regrets?, 2012
resin eagle skulls, resin eagle feet, rabbit fur, fox tail, Persian lamb skin, leather, aluminium and steel
So Do you Have Any Regrets

Siobhán Hapaska
So, Do You Have Any Regrets?, 2012
resin eagle skulls, resin eagle feet, rabbit fur, fox tail, Persian lamb skin, leather, aluminium and steel

Inquire
Apples

Stephen McKenna
Apples, 2010
oil on canvas
65 x 50 cm / 25.6 x 19.7 in   

 

Inquire
Details of Two Vases

Stephen McKenna
Details of Two Vases, 1989
oil on panel
13 x 18 cm / 5.1 x 7.1 in 

 

Inquire
Fig Tree

Stephen McKenna
Fig Tree, 2012
oil on canvas
80 x 100 cm / 31.5 x 39.4 in   

 

Inquire
Goethe Haus in Weimar

Stephen McKenna
Goethe Haus in Weimar, 1970
acrylic and oil on board
46 x 61 cm / 18.1 x 24 in   

Inquire
Piranesi

Stephen McKenna
Piranesi I, 2012
oil on canvas
135 x 100 cm / 53.1 x 39.4 in   

 

Inquire
Stone Map

Stephen McKenna
Stone Map, 1991
oil on canvas
80 x 100 cm / 31.5 x 39.4 in   

 

Inquire
The Black Portrait

Stephen McKenna
The Black Portrait (JLB), 1985
oil on canvas
50 x 40 cm / 19.7 x 15.7 in  

Inquire
The Villa D'Este

Stephen McKenna
The Villa D’Este, 1982
oil on canvas
180 x 150 cm / 70.9 x 59.1 in   

Inquire
Triple Head

Stephen McKenna
Triple Head, 2000
oil on canvas
36 x 30 cm / 14.2 x 11.8 in   

Inquire
Four Angels

Siobhán Hapaska
Four Angels, 2012
selenite, aluminium, forged aluminium fittings, concrete cloth, LEDs and electrical components
150 x 100 x 100 cm / 59.1 x 39.4 x 39.4 in 

For Eyes that are Full

Siobhán Hapaska
For Eyes That Are Full, 2012
vegetable tanned leather, pheasant feathers, brass and silver solder and waxed linen thread
107 x 50 x 40 cm / 42.1 x 19.7 x 15.7 in 

So Do you Have Any Regrets

Siobhán Hapaska
So, Do You Have Any Regrets?, 2012
resin eagle skulls, resin eagle feet, rabbit fur, fox tail, Persian lamb skin, leather, aluminium and steel

Apples

Stephen McKenna
Apples, 2010
oil on canvas
65 x 50 cm / 25.6 x 19.7 in   

 

Details of Two Vases

Stephen McKenna
Details of Two Vases, 1989
oil on panel
13 x 18 cm / 5.1 x 7.1 in 

 

Fig Tree

Stephen McKenna
Fig Tree, 2012
oil on canvas
80 x 100 cm / 31.5 x 39.4 in   

 

Goethe Haus in Weimar

Stephen McKenna
Goethe Haus in Weimar, 1970
acrylic and oil on board
46 x 61 cm / 18.1 x 24 in   

Piranesi

Stephen McKenna
Piranesi I, 2012
oil on canvas
135 x 100 cm / 53.1 x 39.4 in   

 

Stone Map

Stephen McKenna
Stone Map, 1991
oil on canvas
80 x 100 cm / 31.5 x 39.4 in   

 

The Black Portrait

Stephen McKenna
The Black Portrait (JLB), 1985
oil on canvas
50 x 40 cm / 19.7 x 15.7 in  

The Villa D'Este

Stephen McKenna
The Villa D’Este, 1982
oil on canvas
180 x 150 cm / 70.9 x 59.1 in   

Triple Head

Stephen McKenna
Triple Head, 2000
oil on canvas
36 x 30 cm / 14.2 x 11.8 in   

Installation Views

Installation Views Thumbnails
SH & SMcK install2

Siobhán Hapaska & Stephen McKenna, Kerlin Gallery, 30th November 2012 - 19th January 2013

SH & SMcK install3

Siobhán Hapaska & Stephen McKenna, Kerlin Gallery, 30th November 2012 - 19th January 2013

SH & SMck install4

Siobhán Hapaska & Stephen McKenna, Kerlin Gallery, 30th November 2012 - 19th January 2013

Siobhán Hapaska & Stephen McKenna

Siobhán Hapaska & Stephen McKenna, Kerlin Gallery, 30th November 2012 - 19th January 2013

SH & SMcK install2

Siobhán Hapaska & Stephen McKenna, Kerlin Gallery, 30th November 2012 - 19th January 2013

SH & SMcK install3

Siobhán Hapaska & Stephen McKenna, Kerlin Gallery, 30th November 2012 - 19th January 2013

SH & SMck install4

Siobhán Hapaska & Stephen McKenna, Kerlin Gallery, 30th November 2012 - 19th January 2013

Siobhán Hapaska & Stephen McKenna

Siobhán Hapaska & Stephen McKenna, Kerlin Gallery, 30th November 2012 - 19th January 2013