HARVEST Opening night is Wednesday August 11th.Thursday August 12th it is open to the public and runs daily from 12noon to 6 p.m., August 12th until September 18th at The Grain Store, Ballymaloe House, Shanagarry, Co. Cork

Combining the work of three painters – Rebecca Bradley, Diane Magee and Louise McKeown – with that of four ceramic sculptors – Liz Burgess, Andrea Cashell, Martha Cashman and Nedyalka Panova – this is an exhibition that varies in approach, content and theme, but is united by the location in which these artists live, the dedication with which they work, and their instinctive responses to the world around them.

The four ceramic sculptors exhibiting work in an array of different methods, demonstrating mastery of each medium along with flair, imagination and skill.

Based in Kinsale, Liz Burgess creates elegant and contemporary torsos of male and female forms, and garden sculptures inspired by the rock formations found at beaches around Cork, in raku-fired ceramics. Andrea Cashell is an award-winning ceramic artist from Youghal who makes contemporary slab-built sculptures using white stoneware clay, based on the organic forms and repeat patterns found in nature like those of shells, plants and flowers.

Martha Cashman is also from Youghal, now Cork based, and a very well known ceramicist who transforms the most humble of objects, such as tools and spoons, into symbolic pieces using delicate porcelain with bright lustre glazes, woven wire and wood. Nedyalka Panova is Bulgarian but lives and works in Cork, and is an award-winning ceramic artist whose work, inspired by nature, uses using a wide range of materials and techniques, from fine bone china to raku.

Each of the three painters in the exhibition also responds directly and immediately to the individual environment in their work.

Rebecca Bradley was born in London in the 1960s and has lived and worked in Fermoy for the past eighteen years. Ranging from light, open, minimal paintings to more densely worked textural pieces, landscapes and places she has visited provide a starting point for her work.

Diane Magee was born in Youghal, where she lives and works, and her work explores and records the landscape, light and views which surround her daily. Originally from Clonmel, Louise McKeown is based in Kinsale where she runs her own gallery.

Deriving ideas, tastes and styles from various sources, she produces both landscapes and portraits, with her painting primarily influenced by the Irish countryside and its rich colours and people.

The broad range of work on view in this exhibition fully represents the exciting artistic life of Cork and its environs, and is a wonderfully engaging and authentic reflection of a genuinely vibrant cultural scene.

www.rebeccabradleyartist.com            www.andreacashell.com

www.marthacashman.com                   www.dianemagee.com

www.louisemckeon.com                      www.nedyalkapanova.com

Liz Burgess (website in progress) tel: (087)7532956