Marking twenty years of making with Ireland’s leading artists, Stoney Road Press comes to the Ballinglen Museum of Art for an exciting exhibition.
From Dorothy Cross to Brian O’Doherty, and Patrick Scott to Leah Hewson, Stoney Road Press has worked with a heady roster of artists since 2001, when a conversation over coffee between artist James O’Nolan and printmaker and gallery owner David O’Donoghue led to the studio’s foundation.
Now, to mark their twentieth anniversary, the Stoney Road team have commissioned new work and selected some stunning favourites for a landmark exhibition at the new Ballinglen Museum of Contemporary Art.
“There are artists who have made works with us since the early days,” says O’Donoghue. “We thought it would be nice to invite them and some newer friends to celebrate with us.” The results of that invitation read as a survey of the best of Irish art since 2001.
Print is the most democratic of art forms – instead of art lovers vying over a single work, print enables more people to own a work they love. That doesn’t stop editions selling out, a recent series by Leah Hewson was spoken for almost as soon as it came off the Stoney Road presses. Hewson is currently making new work for the exhibition, as is Blaise Drummond. Also included are Michael Canning and Barbara Rae, both of whom have spent time at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation in Co Mayo.
What Stoney Road do best is enable artists who may not usually work in print to realise their vision, often with astonishing results. From Eilis O’Connell’s haunting studies of the circuits of the brain, to Donald Teskey’s beloved land and seascapes, the work shows what the medium can do. Artists remark on how inspiring the experience of working at Stoney Road is, to which O’Donoghue simply replies “it’s what we love to do.”
Meanwhile, the Ballinglen Arts Foundation has also been proving inspirational to artists for almost thirty years, since its founding in 1992 by Margo Dolan and Peter Maxwell. The Foundation’s much sought after residencies in rural County Mayo have supported Irish artists and attracted famous names from around the world, creating fascinating exchanges and new networks.
Opening last year, the Ballinglen Museum provides exhibition space to celebrate the Foundation’s own collection, and host exhibitions such as this celebration of Stoney Road Press and its artists. The exhibition is being held in memory of the co-founder of Stoney Road Press, James O’Nolan (1952-2018).
The exhibition features Patrick Scott, Barbara Rae, Donald Teskey, James Earley, James Kennedy, Monica Lundy, Dorothy Cross, Brian O’Doherty, Richard Gorman, Blaise Drummond, Amelia Stein, Eilis O’Connell, Kathy Prendergast, Felicity Clear, Michael Canning, and Leah Hewson.
