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PRESS RELEASE
ARTHAUS
AN EXHIBITION BY ANDY MAC MANUS AND VINCENT CASEY
(over The Bierhaus)
2 Henry Street
Galway
Co. Galway
Official opening: by PHILL JUPITUS, Saturday 22nd March 2007 at 7.30 p.m.
Opening night after party: with Dj Deviant and guests @ The Bierhaus, 2 Henry Street, Galway from 10pm – Late.
Opening hours:
Saturday 22nd (7-10pm)
Sunday 23rd & Monday 24th from 11am – 8pm.
Potentially one of the most exciting exhibitions to hit Galway in recent times opens Easter weekend over The Bierhaus. Arthaus, a collaborative exhibition of recent work by artists Andy Mac Manus and Vincent Casey, is being staged not in a conventional gallery, but in a dormant apartment in the centre of town.
The show will exhibit over 25 new works, chiefly in the discipline of silk-screen printing. The exhibition focuses on contemporary artworks characterised by strong imagery and powerful, yet playful visual presence. With both artist’s heavily influenced by popular culture, travel and street art, it is perhaps inevitable that many themes are explored in their work, although common threads such as urban living, architecture, and youth culture remain throughout.
In an aesthetic sense, the work could be described as being quite graphic, which owes a little to the artists backgrounds in graphic design, with both Andy and Vincent currently working in the field.
The exhibition aims to create a distinctive visual experience in that its unique location is free from the boundaries and restrictions a traditional gallery setting may present. It utilizes its location to the full, and while the artists themselves hold no gripe towards the usual formalities of exhibition spaces they wanted to approach this event from a more laidback perspective, where the audience can interact with the work in a more relaxed environment. With complimentary beer and wine, a dj in the corner and the cosy confines of an apartment, Arthaus is much more than an exhibition; it is more akin to the perfect house party!
It's not the first time these artists have combined for an unusual exhibition. Last December they exhibited in an actual living-breathing house in Mullingar. On this occasion Donal Dineen supplied the soundtrack, alongside two open fires, with wine being replaced by mulled wine, while the public paid the artists the highest compliment with over half the exhibition selling out on the first night. In September of last year, Andy and Vincent collaborated on an exhibition in Ennis, entitled ‘Trespass’, which was held in a derelict shop in the town. This guerrilla exhibition, which ran for just one weekend attracted almost 500 visitors and received huge local media attention for it's outright cheekiness, quirkiness and for its exciting use of space which had been idle and forgotten about for some years. Individually they’ve also staged some pretty unorthodox shows such as ‘Diversions’ in Westmeath where Andy took over a derelict cinema with six other artists for a week.
As Arthaus will also only run for a very short time, it is the artists hope to instill a sense of urgency amongst the public. With many exhibitions dragging on for weeks and having very little impact after the first weekend, this exhibition aims to make a strong impact in a short space of time, leaving all viewers with something to ponder well after the exhibition is over.
Ahead of the exhibition, artists Vincent Casey and Andy Mac Manus are leaving 50 limited edition prints each lying around Galway city for people to find and take home. The prints will have promotional material printed on the bottom, but this can be cut off, leaving a piece of their work for anyone who finds one, to be hung on a wall. The prints, which use a mixed media of silkscreen printing and spray paint, have been printed on wood, in editions of 50, with each print being signed and numbered by the artist. They will be available in various locations around the city from midnight, Thursday 20th of March. Happy hunting, and please just take one of each!
Vincent and Andy are also showing their work in Shanghai currently as part of the ‘Is Mise Ireland’ exhibition, which opened last weekend. The exhibition will be held outdoors in the Xin Tian Di area, with thousands of visitors passing through on an hourly basis, and will then move to Beijing in the run up to the Olympics.
Arthaus is a free event open to the public.
