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Exquisite Portraits

Illustrators Ireland

Monday 10 August - Wednesday 23 December 2020

This wonderful exhibition, entitled Exquisite Portraits on display at the Lab Gallery, is the fruit of a project instigated by illustrator, Margaret Anne Suggs, and author, Juliette Saumande, during the period of lockdown. Inspired by a similar venture in France by artist, Nathalie Novi, when everyone was being asked to keep apart and stay at home, Margaret Anne and Juliette, reached out to fellow illustrators and writers to ask them to participate by engaging in the collaborative drawing and writing project. 
 
The Cadavre equis [Exquisite Corpse] was invented in Paris in 1925 by the Surrealists, Yves Tanguy, Jacques Prévert, André Breton and Marcel Duchamp who revelled in the element of chance and the absurd in their work. It resulted in intuitive drawings in which each participant takes turns writing or drawing on a sheet of paper, folding it to conceal his or her contribution, and then passing it to the next player for a further contribution. Contemporary artists who have also engaged in this practice, include Jake and Dinos Chapman. 

However, Margaret Anne Suggs and Juliette Saumande went a step further and adapted and enriched this concept by asking fellow artists to provide a picture of themselves in confinement and the images and sentences were conjoined to provide a wonderful array of diverse experiences. It is a testament to the innovation, creativity and spirit of collaboration of these artists and writers that their response was so powerful and engaging. 
 
Notwithstanding the fact that social distancing has exerted a great price for those working in the creative field, the work produced during this unprecedented and abrupt shutdown highlights how art can unify and anchor in the midst of turbulent uncertainty. 26 illustrators and 20 writers collaborated to produce the beautiful and intricate works evident in this exhibition. It represents the essence of what creativity is about and also highlights the role of chance in art.  

Past Exhibitions

4 600 400 85 c1

Unassembled

Various Artists

Thursday 16 - Sunday 19 January 2020

ARC Two Steps Twice 300 DPI 35

Two Steps, Twice

Lorraine Elder, Breege Fahy, Laura Flood, Madeleine Hadd, Aisling McConville, Sorcha McNamara, Padraig Sinnott, Emer Wang

Wednesday 13 December 2023 - Saturday 6 January 2024

VAN IMAGE

In the ticking room

Eileen Leonard Sealy

Friday 17 January - Saturday 1 March 2025

CH Seven Diamonds 600 680 85 c1

Deck – A Collection of Found Playing Cards

Claire Halpin

Thursday 3 March - Saturday 2 July 2022