Senior Limerick School of Art and Design artist, Tom Fitzgerald, presents his solo exhibit, The Celtic Zoo, in the University of Limerick’s Bourn Vincent Art Gallery.
Satirical, paradoxical and humorous, the Limerick-based artist delves into the contemporarily-fitting subjects of the economic downturn, flawed financial and governmental organisations and the blunders of Irish religion. With 24 mixed media drawings and four slate wall-works on display, Fitzgerald opened the array of artwork to the public on December 15, alongside Director of Limerick School of Art and Design Mike Fitzpatrick.
Mr Fitzgerald opened the exhibit with a short speech, explaining the catalyst of the project, which began with “a sense of desperation from listening to the news”.
Former student of his, Mr Fitzpatrick, complimented the works of The Celtic Zoo, as well as Fitzgerald’s artistic mindset: “We always have this region where we exist in, and Tom knows where he is.”
One of Fitzgerald’s most regarded illustrations was the indirectly metaphorical “The International Monetary Fund orders Ireland to reduce forty shades of green to ten by 2015.” Mainly a water-colour drawing, Fitzgerald blends two pastoral scenes together; creating a timeline in the image. With a humbly perched robin, Red Admirals and a heavy emphasis on rich countrified green, Fitzgerald places these figures purposely adjacent to an unsightly, infertile landscape.
Fitzpatrick reflected on pieces alike, discussing the liberalism and freedom of his works. “One of the joys of art is that you can do whatever you want.”
Some of the somewhat-controversial pieces consist of interweaving artistic elements, which Fitzgerald replicates; innumerable smooth green contours and curvatures, where he applies them as a “mode of differentiation” between subjects. Another aspect of his is the “aesthetical device” of depicting chess boards, although stating that “they have no deeper meaning.”
The show shall remain open to the public until its closure on 23 February 2012. The Bourn Vincent Gallery is located on the second floor of the Foundation Building, on the University campus.
Fintan YT Walsh
