Clare Arts Office is delighted to present “Drawing Attention (blink and you miss it)” an exhibition by John Killeen at the Cultúrlann Sweeney, Gallery, Kilkee.
After practicing as a musician, writer and poet for many years, John began drawing and painting as a means to deal with the loss of several family members over the space of a few years.
John, a core member of the Inis Writers Group, draws much inspiration from connecting with the landscape of the Wild Atlantic Way. This is reflected in the poetic
fragment on the large work entitled “Staying Positive” a piece which fully incorporates the interplay between emotion and landscape, it’s colour and rhythm, elements and objects. Most of the drawings included in the exhibition are condensed refractions of long periods spent walking along Clare’s beautiful coastline, forests and scenery around Killaloe and many other wonderful places of interest.
John worked for fifteen years in the mental health field both in London and in Ennis. In 2014 he returned home to County Clare after twenty years in London where he reared a family and studied. John has achieved a BA in Literature at Birkbeck and a MA in Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths College in the University of London.
John has a keen interest in incorporating text within the image and this is something he is looking forward to exploring. Surface texture, (the rough and the smooth) and collage also play an important role in John’s compositions.
This exhibition runs from 11th April to 12th May, 2023 and everyone is welcome!