In celebration of the 80th anniversary of the foundation of the Kilkenny Art Gallery Society, as the Butler Gallery was first known, an exhibition highlighting new acquisitions and important donations to our Permanent Collection takes place alongside new long-term
loans to the gallery. Since 1943 the Collection has continued to flourish through gift, loan and purchase embracing a variety of disciplines and genres from painting, drawing and printmaking, to sculpture, photography and video.
Butler Gallery has always sought to be a platform for presenting the
best of Irish art today along with demonstrating a strong commitment
to presenting work by artists of international repute. Our expanding
collection has sought to reflect the constantly changing nature of
visual art practice and the range of media used in the making of
contemporary art today.
The particular selection on view includes many works either purchased
or donated by artists that have exhibited in the gallery over the past
twenty years. It also includes a commissioned response on the
concept of ‘collection’ from performance artist Suzanne Walsh. In
addition, Poetry Encounters - a special series of artist-poet readings
and discussions, is presented in association with Poetry Ireland to
mark this significant anniversary.
The exhibition features an eclectic range of works by artists Eamon O'Kane, Peter
Bradley, Michael Beirne, Edward Delaney, Flor Garduño, Vera Klute,
Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Tony O’Malley, Gypsy Ray, Emma Roche,
Blaise Smith and many others. A film programme of works in the
Collection by Bridget O’Gorman, Trish McAdam and Mary Reid Kelley
and Patrick Kelley is featured throughout the run of the exhibition in
our Digital Gallery.
Curated by Anna O’Sullivan, Butler Gallery Director