CO WATERFORD.- Lismore Castle Arts announces the main exhibition for 2012 is a solo show by Hans Josephsohn, which opened on 12 May and continues until 30 September at Lismore Castle Arts, Lismore, Co Waterford, Ireland. Staged in collaboration with Hauser & Wirth and Kesselhaus Josephsohn, the exhibition features works dating from 1950 to 2011, specially selected for Lismore including pieces in the gallery and the historic Castle Gardens.
Josephsohn’s sculptures focus on the figure in its many guises – standing, sitting, and reclining, as well as numerous interpretations of the human head. But Josephsohn is not endeavouring to capture any sense of likeness. Rather he is searching for something deeper, something enduring almost permanent. Many of his works evoke art from classical societies, including the Moai sculptures on Easter Island and medieval Romanesque sculptures.
Josephsohn begins his process using plaster which he finds perfect for the simplicity and spontaneity it provides. Plaster allows a freedom to add, subtract and edit his work repeatedly. This process is evident in the works – the movements and gestures of the artists’ hands remain and the organic qualities of plaster referencing Josephsohn’s hand in the making. Latterly many of his works have been reimagined in brass at the Kesselhaus Josephsohn complex, home to an exhibition space, archive and foundry.
Josephsohn, now in his 90s, is a highly regarded artist and his practice continues to inform and inspire contemporary artists. This is his first solo exhibition in Ireland and his first institutional exhibition since 2008. In the past decade there have been major solo exhibitions at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam and the Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt. The exhibition at Lismore Castle Arts offers a rare opportunity to enjoy key works from an internationally important artist.
In conjunction with the Josephsohn exhibition there are three solo shows at the project space Lismore Castle Arts: St Carthage Hall. This space was launched in 2011, with the aims of increasing the Lismore exhibition programme, whilst also invigorating a previously neglected building.
The exhibition programme at St Carthage Hall opened on 12 May with a solo show by American artist TJ Wilcox. The Heir and Astaire is devoted to the marriage of American theatrical star Adele Astaire (sister of Fred) and Lord Charles Cavendish. A daringly modern pair for their era, Adele and Charles embodied the innovation, freedom and extravagant modern luxury of high society in the interwar years. The film traces Adele’s show business success and short married life at Lismore Castle, the seat of the Devonshire family, following her retirement from dancing. Silent sequences of photographs from Adele’s childhood and married life are interspersed with an interview with the current Dowager Duchess of Devonshire at Lismore about the couple. The exhibition continues until 10 June.
Future exhibitions at Lismore Castle Arts: St Carthage Hall include Corban Walker: Please Adjust (23 June – 19 August; work from the Irish Pavilion at 54th Venice Biennale) and Alastair MacKinven: 24 Intentions (1 September – 7 October; a body of work responding to 17th century chemist Robert Boyle). Each exhibition will be launched with an artists talk.
