Ards Arts Centre in Newtownards is pleased to welcome two new exhibitions to its Georgian and Sunburst Galleries: Ensoulment a group exhibition by Rosalind Lowry, Sheena Devitt and Rozzi Kennedy, and What We Can’t See Now Will Last Forever a solo exhibition by Kim Montgomery.
In Ensoulment, three artists, Sheena Devitt, Rozzi Kennedy and Rosalind Lowry, investigate their moment of illumination through the processes of painting, sculpture and installation. Rooted in the lands across the three Counties of Antrim, Armagh and Down, and finding strength in the gentleness of slowing down, they present their life stages, their inspiration, and their works of ensoulment.
Embracing the slow rhythms of Winter as a productive time. Their choice to withdraw from the exterior world to focus on an inner world of creating, preparing, investigating, incubating, illuminating and evaluating. The exhibition celebrates women, their rites of passage and their joy of creating. Ensoulment opens in the Georgian Gallery on Thursday 22 January.
Kim Montgomery is a visual artist whose work combines figurative representational drawing, painting and collage, with real and imagined autobiographical narratives. She observes and gathers sources from life, personal photographs, and collected ephemera – exploring romanticism for the throwaway treasure, and the space between memory and aspiration.
Working across a range of surfaces including paper, glue, paint and leather, and influenced by ways of making explored by artists including Lubaina Himid and Robert Rauschenberg respectively, Montgomery combines traditional ways of making art with the experimental. She is interested in authenticity of material and recycling personal packaging as consumer to construct self-portraits. What We Can’t See Now Will Last Forever opens in the Sunburst Gallery on Thursday 22 January.
Both exhibitions will continue until Saturday 21 February. Admission is free.
All are welcome to attend a Preview Event in Ards Arts Centre on Thursday 22 January at 7pm.
As part of her exhibition, Kim Montgomery will facilitate a one-day Acrylic Painting workshop on Saturday 14 February, 10.30am – 3.30pm. In this workshop, Kim will help participants explore techniques of acrylic painting to create your own artwork inspired by the exhibition. To book a space, visit: https://andculture.org.uk/classes/acrylic-painting-workshop
For more information on the exhibitions, visit; www.andculture.org.uk