“Silence Roars” Exhibition Opens
The Laois Arthouse, Stradbally, is delighted to host, an exhibition by Mary Cooke. Mary was recently selected to exhibit following a competitive open call at the Laois Arthouse. It is her first exhibition in Co Laois.
Mary was born in Athy, Co Kildare, not far from Stradbally. She spent much of her childhood outdoors, preferring to help on the farm, to the home bound lifestyle adopted by most girls of her age at that time.
Following the recent loss of her mother, Pearl, she was inspired to create the series she titled “Silence Roars” which addresses her relationship with her mother. The vivid memory of mother, hanging clothes on a clothes line, surrounded by cloth nappies and one of her few dresses is a vivid memory which inspired her.
The Laois Arthouse, Stradbally hosts an exhibition by Mary Cooke.
Mary’s art is primarily expressionistic. It enciphers memories and emotions that are frank, poetic, intimate and universal. Using her own experience as the source material, she explores ideas of self-portraiture and narrative disclosure, intimately bound up with her own biography.
The Stradbally Arthouse will be transformed for Mary Cooke’s exhibition as she presents dresses suspended in the Gallery. She will also utilise the Garden area outside the Gallery for displaying some of her fibre-glass dresses.
Mary has an MFA in Visual Arts from Bennington College, Vermont, USA and a BA (hons) in Fine Art in Sculpture from Winchester School of Art, Hampshire, UK.
The Laois Arthouse, Stradbally hosts an exhibition by Mary Cooke.
She has exhibited extensively throughout Ireland and the USA.
The exhibition opens on Thursday 5th of November at 1:30pm in the Laois Arthouse and runs until Friday the 27th of November. A short introductory talk to the exhibition will be held in the Gallery and presented by Mary Cooke. Refreshment will be served. The exhibition will be opened by Michelle de Forge, Director of the Dunamaise Arts Centre.
To view the exhibition the opening times are Monday-Friday 1pm – 4pm weekdays and on Saturday November 28th
The Gallery will open on Saturday 28th November from 1.00pm-4.00pm to facilitate visitors.
For further details or to arrange a viewing outside of these times please contact the Laois Arts Office on 057 866 4033 or email artsoff@laoiscoco.ie