An oasis of Irish art at Limerick museum
THE BEAUTY of botanical art is being displayed at The People’s Museum of Limerick by artist Isabelle Ryan.
The art exhibition, which takes place between 7 and 9pm, from March 24 to March 31, presents a variety of botanical photographs and scenes from a flower shop within a funeral directors. Isabelle is a visual artist, living and working in Dublin.
Isabelle's mother has been an employee with the shop for 20 years, and now Isabelle herself works there.
The atmosphere and beauty of working with flowers, and the intricacies of the trade, which she has overseen throughout her childhood with her mother and now sees in her work, are all major aspects of inspiration behind the project.
In the case of this project, among other subjects, Isabelle looks at the floral oasis.
“From the moment the stem is placed in the oasis block, spontaneous and near second nature, they build, forming a disjointed arrangement of themselves. A merging of old and new, an archive of activity.” said Isabelle.
As a photographer, illustrator and painter, Isabelle’s work deals with portraying human connection, senses and atmosphere in settings and objects typically lacking physical human presence and exhibiting the connection between the two.
Isabelle is an awardee of Limerick’s Wickham Studios Connect 5 award. The Connect 5 scheme entails exhibition exchanges by GOMA Gallery of Modern Art Waterford and is supported by various other art studios such as Sample Studios, Engage Studios, and BKB studios.
The aim of the project is to provide a platform of bursary and networking for artists around the country.