Greg Hallahan
My artwork is deeply rooted in honoring the architectural legacy of our ancient ancestors, showcasing the timeless power and simplicity that often go unnoticed within man-made structures.
Through my work, I consciously engage in the reintegration and reuse of recyclable materials, breathing new life into their humble origins. By predominantly utilizing recycled double corrugated cardboard, and more recently incorporating plywood, I aim to celebrate the inherent beauty found in the everyday. This choice serves as a testament to the eco-friendly importance of utilizing sustainable mediums in artistic expression. Similar to cardboard, which often goes unnoticed, both the material and the structure possess an undiscovered beauty waiting to be uncovered.
As viewers interact with the textures and forms of my pieces, they embark on a sensory journey that transcends the ordinary. Much like the cardboard boxes that once served as vessels for goods, my art carries the potential for transformation, inviting viewers to reconsider their perception of the world.
In today’s fast-paced world, where the extraordinary often hides within the ordinary, my art offers a moment of reflection. It prompts viewers to reconnect with the simplicity and intricacy of their surroundings, reminding them of the abundance of creativity and beauty concealed beneath the surface of everyday life.
Greg Hallahan artworks Laois Arthouse
Lia Laimbock
Lia Laimbock is a Dutch-born artist living and working in Ireland. A graduate from the Royal Academy of Visual Arts in The Hague The Netherlands in 1988. She has worked independently since. Worked with 4 different galleries in the early nineties for 10 years. Mostly solo exhibitions apart from group exhibitions. 3 Solo exhibitions in the Museum of Figurative Art in Groningen, Bergen op Zoom and the Kim Whanki Museum in Seoul South Korea after winning the Dutch Bienale Figurative Art. Series of 8 portraits of authors in the Museum of Literature in The Hague. Painted life size the inauguration double portraits of HRH King Willem Alexander and HM Queen Maxima.
Before falling in love with an Irish man and moving to Ireland she was a master teacher for the final year students at the Classical Academy in Groningen for 2 years. Exhibited twice at the Annual exhibition of the RHA. Exhibited 7 years at ART source at the RDS. Nation Wide interviewed Lia regarding her life size fibre glass resin racehorse that she painted to benefit the Injured Jockeys Fund and sensational Kids Fund. Permanently displayed in the Heritage Hotel in Killenard. Lia joined Incognito for 5 years to benefit the Jack& Jill Foundation. Apart from painting Lia does occasional ceramics and fabric collages. She prefers to paint highly detailed large scale paintings like Saint Brigid and Conleth at dawn painting commissioned by Kildare County Council now exhibited in the new Library in Naas. She recently donated her Brigid rooks and heron painting to Solas Bhríde near Kildare Town. Her work expresses her love for nature, animals and people in imaginary settings. Lia is delighted to work at The Arthouse in Stradbally and is looking forward to collaborate with the other Artists.
Bernadette Keating
Bernadette Keating is a visual artist with a multidisciplinary practice spanning still photography, video, text, sound, and installation. Working between conceptual and documentary approaches to image-making, she explores notions of space, place, and belonging in the built environment, agricultural landscapes and border territories. Her academic journey includes postgraduate studies in Photography & Media at the Academy of Fine Arts (HGB) Leipzig under the mentorship of Prof. Joachim Brohm, complemented by an MA in Documentary Photography from the University of the Arts London and a BA in European Studies from University of Limerick. Her artist book ‘Of Bounds’, published in 2022 by German publisher Lubok Verlag, intertwines photographic and text-based series, exploring themes of land reform, borders, and the design and construction of space. The book was long-listed by Stiftung Buchkunst (Book Arts Foundation) for Germany’s ‘Most Beautiful Art Book of the Year’ award in 2022. ‘Solo Work’, a black & white photographic series stemming from a residency in Oslo, earned a place in the 2018 biennial European Month of Photography Berlin. Additionally, her photo book ’30 Irish Landscapes’ made it to the shortlist for Amsterdam’s Unseen Photobook Award in 2015. Notably, her work was recently shown in the following group exhibitions such as: ‘In Our Own Image: The Politics of Place’ at Photo Museum Ireland, Dublin (2022), ‘Uneven Ground: Designing Places, Naming History, Naming Places, Designing History’ at the House of Photography Prague, Czech Republic (2020), and ‘Modernism. Iconography. Photography., The Bauhaus and its Consequences, 1919 to 2019’ at the Museum of Contemporary Art Magdeburg, Germany (2019). During ‘Zeitgeist 2024’, a year-long celebration of Irish arts and culture throughout Germany, her ‘Líne’ photo series will feature in ‘Changing States: Ireland in the 21st Century’ at the Haus am Kleistpark municipal gallery in Berlin from June to August. This collaborative exhibition, organised by IKS (German Institute for Art Documentation) & Photo Museum Ireland, is a showcase of Irish artistic talent. Bernadette’s current Arthouse studio residency revolves around the themes of “Time” and “Scale,” prompted by the discovery of an erratic boulder on the family farm in Laois. Beyond its geological significance, this boulder symbolises the passage of time, with marine fossils embedded within dating back 300 million years. Her project encompasses a variety of artistic mediums, including photography, videography, and specialised techniques like ultraviolet photography and photogrammetry. Through this multidimensional exploration, she aims to investigate concepts of form, space, and materiality in novel and playful ways. The boulder serves as the focal point for this exploration, serving as a visual and conceptual anchor for the project’s thematic investigations, and a catalyst for deeper philosophical inquiry. Ultimately, Bernadette endeavours to create visually arresting compositions that juxtapose human and geological time, and blur the boundaries between art and science.
Our Resident Artist – Stephanie Deady
Huge congratulations to our resident Artist in the Arthouse Stradbally Ms Stephaine Deady. Stephanie was the recipient of the Hennessy Craig Award 2024. It was presented at the Royal Hibernian Academy.
Stephanie Deady graduated with a BA in Fine Art from Limerick School of Art and Design in (2014). Upcoming solo exhibitions include, Art House Laois (2024), Kevin Kavanagh Dublin (2024). Group and solo exhibitions include Hennessy Craig Award RHA (2024), Ballinglen First Biennial (2023), Boyle Arts Festival (2023), Measure for Measure (solo), Kevin Kavanagh Dublin (2022), The Pleasure Ground, Rathfarham Castle (2022), SILVER, Kevin Kavanagh, Dublin (2019), Hennessy Craig Award, Shortlisted Group Show, RHA Dublin (2019), Make Haste Slowly, Goeth-Institut Irland, Dublin (2018), Island Life, Kevin Kavanagh Dublin (2018), Primed Vision, Solo Exhibition, Kevin Kavanagh, Dublin (2018), An Act of Hospitality can only be Poetic, Highlanes Gallery Drogheda (2018), Atrium Space, ‘Temple Bar Gallery + Studio’s 6th Annual ‘Dublin Art Book Fair’ (2016). Exhibited at Art Rotterdam (2023) and London Art Fair (2020). Recipient of the Hennessy Craig Award (2024), the Claremorris Gallery Award Ballinglen First Biennial (2023), the Fergus Ahearn Award, Boyle (2023), Agility Award The Arts Council of Ireland (2021), Bursary Award The Arts Council (2021). Tony O’Malley Resident administered by the RHA (2017/2018).