It's all about brushstrokes at The Kennedy Gallery on Harcourt Street, Dublin, which opened in 1887 as a brush factory. The building, which now operates as a gallery and an art supply shop, is still drawing crowds.
"It is a unique Dublin landmark for artists and art lovers," said the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, paying tribute to the Kennedy family, when he came to open Eithne Ryan's first solo exhibition in oils this week.
Ryan, who grew up in Dublin's Marino before moving to Cahore, Co Wexford, 20 years ago, "has embraced the rural landscape in such a natural and appealing way, that some might even think that her talent emanates from the sunny south east," said the Taoiseach. "I thought she was a northsider," he said before opening the show. Ryan went to Wexford but "some of us have remained north of the Liffey to perfect our own art form there", said Ahern who was whisked off next to Cathal Brugha Barracks to launch the records of the Bureau of Military History 1913-21.
The 60 paintings on view are "semi-abstract landscapes," said Ryan. "There are earth elements coming through. I paint from the gut rather than anything."
Ryan's sisters, Siobhán Heffernan and Mary Heaslip, were there, along with her brother, Liam Mulgrew, and her daughters, Clare and Aileen Ryan. Writer Philip Casey from Gorey, Co Wexford, was among the guests too. Neighbours from Cahore included Sarah Donelan and her brother, Jimmy, with their friend, Leeann Kavanagh.
Orna Gaynor, widow of the late Sean Gaynor, Irish ambassador to Canada , and her brother, Kieran Tobin, who has recently become a full-time painter, also attended.
Prof Dervilla Donnelly, chairwoman of the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies, was among the guests also.
The exhibition upstairs at the Kennedy Gallery, at 12 Harcourt Street, will continue for three weeks.