CHARCOALOGY EXHIBITION: GERARD BYRNE STUDIO | RANELAGH, DUBLIN

19 May - 17 June 2023

Overview

A remarkable collection of 45 charcoal drawings of Dublin, Paris, London, Brighton and Singapore.

Gerard Byrne Studio presents Charcoalogy, a remarkable collection of forty-five large scale charcoal drawings on canvas of Dublin, Paris, London, Brighton and Hove, and Singapore by Ireland’s foremost Modern Impressionist, Gerard Byrne.

Coinciding with National Drawing Day 2023 - 20th May – an initiative of the National Gallery of Ireland which aims to encourage creativity and celebrate the tradition of draughtsmanship – this collection comprises a series of urbanscapes primarily featuring architectural scenes of cities where the artist lived and worked in recent years.

For centuries, drawing was fundamental to the production of art and design, a method of metamorphosis which brought artistic vision to life. Yet, in an era of increasingly digitised art, conceptual drawing and visualisation, draughtsmanship is in danger of becoming the skill of a bygone generation. Considered a Modern Impressionist, Gerard Byrne’s creative process embodies the expertise of his artistic forebears, beginning with a freehand charcoal sketch drawn directly onto the canvas. While known primarily for his finished oil paintings, Byrne sometimes chooses to leave a sketch as it is, in its loose, expressive, monochromatic form. Once playfully called ‘stop paintings’, in that they are halfway between creative conception and finished oil painting, these drawings offer not only a glimpse into Byrne’s artistic practice, but an insight into his artist’s eye.

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Phot. Artist Gerard Byrne drawing en plein air. The Mansion House, Dawson Street, Dublin; phot: Richie Stokes

National Drawing Day

Get to the heart of creativity and draw on Saturday 20th May! National Drawing Day is a nationwide celebration of drawing and creativity, and has been running since 2004. Initiated by the National Gallery of Ireland and supported by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, it takes place every year on the third Saturday in May. With small beginnings, and just a handful of organisations taking part at the start, Drawing Day has gone from strength to strength, and now has dozens of participating museums, galleries, libraries, artists and arts organisations all over the island of Ireland.

We are delighted to have Gerard Byrne Studio presenting the Charcoalogy exhibition and their collaboration with Arran Henderson of Dublin Decoded Tours to lead local, open to the public tours exploring the art, architecture and history of Ranelagh to mark National Drawing Day 2023.

- Joanne Drum, Education Officer, National Gallery of Ireland

NATIONAL DRAWING DAY

Believing that beauty is to be found in the everyday, Byrne looks to his surroundings for inspiration, being attracted by the complexity and form of architecture. His drawings pay homage to the architectural heritage of the Georgian, Victorian, Edwardian, and Regency areas so emblematic of Dublin, London, and Brighton and Hove: ornate mouldings, bay windows, elaborate, arched doorways and gable-end chimneys.

Charcoalogy showcases the evocative spontaneity, complex perspective, and dynamic interplay of light and shade so characteristic of Byrne’s plein-air (outdoor) works. He sketches in person, on site, without the aid of photos or prints. Yet, despite this inherent spontaneity, his charcoal drawings are skilfully and faithfully intricate.

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Phot. Artist Gerard Byrne drawing en plei air. The Shelbourne Hotel, St Stephen's Green, Dublin; phot: Marc O'Sullivan

We are proud to exhibit this collection which represents Gerard Byrne’s innate talent and perspective. In an ever-changing world, it serves to remind us that artistic endeavour has always been about leaving marks. The architectural heritage highlighted in these works resulted from the vision and foresight of draughtsmen, designers, and planners. Its preservation and celebration are crucial to our understanding of the past. Byrne’s drawings acknowledge those artists and mark makers who came before him – both in execution and representation – and will remain to be as appreciated in the future as much as the past structures they so expertly and beautifully portray.

'His artistic practice is always informed by a strong sense of individual place: and of what makes each location distinctive and unique. And even, one feels, of how such a place might relate to its own history and its own making.'

- Arran Henderson, Art historian, writer and chief guide at Dublin Decoded, City Walking Tours

DUBLIN DECODED TOURS

It is a pleasure to collaborate with Arran Henderson of Dublin Decoded Tours to mark National Drawing Day 2023. This open to the public tour, created specifically for the occasion of Byrne’s latest exhibition, explores the northern and eastern sections of Dublin’s urban village of Ranelagh, full of Georgian and Victorian redbrick terraces, and will finish on Chelmsford Road with a guided visit inside the studio and gallery, Gerard Byrne Studio. More details and booking on dublindecoded.com

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