Visual Arts in Laois |
CULTURAL PREHISTORY
OF LAOIS |
Visual Arts in County LaoisSouth of Offaly and north of Kilkenny in the midlands of Ireland, County Laois is a county in the midlands of Ireland with a population of 58,774. Lying in the province of Leinster, Laois was founded in 1556 by Mary I of England and its capital is Portlaoise. Early Visual Arts Like many Irish counties, Laois has a visible connection with the early history of Irish art in the remains of Iron Age Celtic ring forts and burial grounds and medieval Christian settlements - such as the Rock of Dunamase, Timahoe Round Tower, Emo Court and Gardens, as well as the twelfth century Cistercian monastery at Abbeyleix. During the period between the fall of Rome (c.350) and the beginning of Renaissance art (c.1400), Church monasteries commissioned a wealth of Irish art, in the form of illuminated manuscripts, precious metalwork and public "High Cross" sculpture. |
Head VI (Francis Bacon) 1948 |
MONUMENTS
OF IRISH CULTURE For a list of national sites of noted historical, architectural or artistic significance, see: Architectural Monuments Ireland and Archeological Monuments Ireland. |
Arts Development in Laois County Laois was one of the first counties in ireland to recruit an Officer in charge of Arts. Its current Arts Department runs a strong program which includes: three county arts plans, the Artists Symposium, and an Artists Patronage Scheme. The county now has the Laois School of Music, Youth Theatres, Artists residencies and a range of arts-in-education programs. In 2006, the School of Music won the Chambers Ireland Arts Annual Cultural and Recreation Award. Laois Artists |
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Angela Delaney (Sculptress in stone); Sarah Delaney (animator, plein air figurative, equestrian and canine artist, and seascape painter); Lisa Fingleton (artist involved in installations, video, sound, fine art photography and performance art); Pat Fitzpatrick (landscape and rural artist); Pat Fox (oil painter known for his landscapes, townscapes, seascapes and portraits); Tom Joyce (oil painter known for his mountain, forest and river landscapes, and his West of Ireland seascapes); Andy Mason (lens-based artist known for his landscape photography); Paul Owens (painter and printmaker); Robert Stack (watercolour landscape painter, and illustrator); and Aidan Flanagan (known for his silkscreen prints and watercolours of Irish landscapes). Art Galleries and Venues One of Laois' best venues is the Dunamaise Arts Centre in Portlaoise (0502-63356). Funded by the Arts Council and Laois County Council, the centre displays works by local, national and international contemporary artists. For specialist paint, visit: Artists (Quality Art Paints), Mountmellick, County Laois (0502-44204). |
For more about Irish culture, see:
Ireland Visual Arts. ENCYCLOPEDIA OF IRISH ART |