KILDARE: Curragh artist to exhibit at Kilcock Art Gallery

An exhibition of Paintings & Prints by Mary McGrath on Biodiversity “ENDANGERED!” opens at Kilcock Art Gallery on September 30 at 3pm with opening words by Eanna Ni Lamhna and continues until October 21.

Mary McGrath grew up on the Curragh of Kildare and had an idyllic childhood immersed in nature.

Knew where the birds nested and could smell the fox on frosty mornings. She had a menagerie of pets, a rabbit, badger, dogs, ponies, white mice, hamsters, a small white mule and a parrot. Living on a stud farm she was surrounded by beautiful foals.
She rode her pony on the Curragh amid the larks, curlews and corncrakes. Loved the terrain with its archaeological sites, furze and lone whitethorn trees.

Horses, rare breeds, and biodiversity are the subject matter of her paintings and this exhibition.

Working in oils, print and watercolours she depicts 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. So much has been lost already, hares and skylarks, bees and ladybirds. The curlew has long since gone.

Mary McGrath’s career in art spanned the USA, London and Dublin.  Her story starts in the 1970s when she studied conservation of paintings at the Courtauld Institute, London University. A Fellowship at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts followed. Mary also worked as a visiting consultant in the Getty Museum, Los Angeles, + many Museums around the world.

Mary was conservator in charge of deconstruction and moving Francis Bacon’s Studio and contents from London to Hugh Lane Gallery Dublin. Further afield, Mary personally supervised hanging and installation of 100 paintings in Hokkaido, Japan from the Hugh Lane Gallery Dubin.  Just 2 of many projects Mary has been involved with around the world.

Conservation of Art & Nature is Mary McGrath's constant inspiration. Mary is highlighting nature’s beauty, the importance of retaining and encouraging wildlife habitats and what can be lost if we don’t.