Endangered!

“Endangered!”

New Paintings and Original Prints by Mary McGrath

Opening Words by Éanna Ní Lamhna on Saturday 30th September 2023.

The exhibition continues until 21^st October, 2023.

ART PRACTICE

2017 Exhibited with Leinster Print Studio, Co. Kildare. Exhibiting in France, Spain, England, Bulgaria, Ireland. Finland

2019 – 2023 Group exhibitions in Kilcock Art Gallery:

Member of SULT Artists Collective  – Gallery 8 Kildare: Phoenix Park Visitors Centre Dublin & Newbridge Co. Kildare.: Bolands of Kildare: Gra Gallery, Naas :”The Artists Well” in conversation with Alan Keane

2023  Solo Exhibition in Kilcock Art Gallery, Co. Kildare, Ireland. entitled: “Endangered!” on Biodiversity

“Endangered!”   Solo Exhibition 30^th Sept. – 21^st Oct. 2023.

“My artwork invites the viewer to be aware of their surroundings. To give nature a chance to recover. To appreciate and cherish our ecosystem’s survivors and realise that we can all make a positive difference.”

Mary McGrath’s career in art spanned the USA, London & Dublin. She studied History of Art in Trinity College Dublin then Conservation of Paintings at the Courtauld Institute, London University followed by a Fellowship to Harvard University. She then worked as Paintings Conservator at the RMRCC in Denver.  Following the presentation of a paper at a gilding conference in Philadelphia Mary was invited by the Getty Museum, Los Angeles to be a visiting consultant for two consecutive summers.

In Ireland, Mary McGrath worked in the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery, Dublin as Paintings Conservator for many years and also worked on contract for the National Gallery, The National Museum and the Irish Museum of Modern Art.

One of the most interesting projects she managed was moving Francis Bacon’s studio from London to Dublin. This involved innovative techniques where archaeologists formed a vital part of the team. Subsequently, she presented papers documenting the move at museums in the United States, England, Spain and Ireland.

“Conservation of Art & Nature have been two constant inspirations during my career.  This exhibition is my effort to raise awareness and start a conversation.

Horses, Rare Breeds, & Biodiversity are the subject matter of my paintings and drawings. Working in oils, print and watercolours my aim is to depict the variety and variability of Irish wildlife and the richness of our native animals and birds which have survived despite intensive farming, habitat destruction and the demands of industry.

While my art conservation career took me to cities around the world, my roots called me home to Kildare in Ireland where I developed a keen interest in native breeds and biodiversity. This also inspired me to write and publish two books: The Irish Draught Horse and The Kerry Bog Pony.   Now, as I indulge my love of painting, my passion for biodiversity and conservation of our natural world continues to imbue my work.

Spending time on my smallholding during lockdown reminded me of what we have already lost, many hares and skylarks, bees, and ladybirds. The curlew has long since gone. But there is always hope.  My art is an attempt to highlight nature’s beauty, the importance of retaining and encouraging wildlife habitats and what can be lost if we don’t.

Mary McGrath September 2023

An OAK Sapling will be planted for every Artwork sold in this Exhibition.

SELECTED WORK AS Consultant Conservator: Irish Museum of Modern Art IMMA: OPW: Hugh Lane Gallery: Iveagh House, Irish Stock Exchange: Leinster House: Russborough House: Trinity College: USA Embassy: St Kevin’s Harrington Street: RHA, Davy Stockbrokers: Carton House: Tallaght Hospital: Visual, IMMA – (Coleman, Freud, Sean Scully, Tim Robinson): Fonsie Mealy: DeVere’s Art Auctions: Royal Hibernian Academy: St Bartholmew’s Ballsbridge: City Hall (Patricia Wrafter Conservation Architect),: Aras an Uachtarain: A&L Goodbody: Crawford Gallery: Price Waterhouse: St Muiredeach’s Cathedral Ballina : Dublin Stock Exchange(David Slattery Conservation Architects), Trinity College Dublin, Exam Hall, (John O’Connell, Conservation Architect): Kilmainham Gaol (OPW Gretta Doyle Architect): 14 Henrietta Street (Dublin Corporation): 15 –17 Moore Street (Grainne Shaffrey Architect): National Gallery of Ireland (Blackwood and Associates Architects): Alexandra College: Kilmainham Courthouse (OPW Gretta Doyle Architect): Moore Street, (Grainne Shaffrey Associates Architects): St Kevin’s Harrington Street, (Bluett & O’Donohue Architects): Belvedere House, (David Slattery Architects): OPW: UCC: Arts Council: Mansion House: Marlay House: St Mary’s Cathedral Kilkenny, (Bluett & O’Donohue Architects): National Gallery (Blackwood and Associates Architects): Dublin Castle (Architect John Cahill): Arts Council: UCC,(Architect John O’Connell: Bishop’s Palace Waterford : ESB: St Mary’s Cathedral Kilkenny: Bishop’s Palace Waterford: Wexford County Council: RTE: Leinster House (Murray O’Laoghaire Architects): A&L Goodbody: McCann Fitzgerald: King’s Inns: Louis le Brocquy; Catholic Cathedral Waterford (Architect: Ron Falconer): Denver Museum of Art, Colorado: The Landmark Trust, (Shaffrey Associates – Architects); plus, many private clients 2002 Presented paper on Bacon Project Innovations at AIC Conference in Houston Texas. Lecture Tour: Getty Museum, Los Angeles; Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco; Denver Art Museum, Colorado. Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid. Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Private group Orange County, California; Private group Harvard University, Massachusetts 1998-2001 Conservator in charge of deconstruction, packing and moving Francis Bacon’s Studio & contents from London to Dublin for Hugh Lane Gallery, reconstructing studio and replacing contents. (David Chipperfield Architects, London) Part-time lecturer Trinity College- History of Art: I.P.A.V: Francis Bacon Studio Project, Hugh Lane Gallery, Consultant Conservator: Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, Project Manager: Organised team to prepare and pack 100 paintings from the Hugh Lane for travel to Japan – personally supervised hanging and installation in Hokkaido, Japan John Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, California. Visiting Consultant, Philadelphia, USA . International Gilding Conference. Presented Paper on Trinity Frame Rocky Mountain Regional Conservation Center, Denver, Colorado. Consultant. Paintings Conservator for National Trust, Northern Ireland.