'Emergence' – a celebration of life and living it to the full
Emergence ‘the Process of Becoming Visible after being Concealed’, an exhibition of works by artist Siobhán Cox-Carlos opened last Friday evening at Cúige Studios, Mullingar.
Siobhán Cox-Carlos is an Irish contemporary abstract expressionist following in the American tradition. She revels in the emotive qualities found through colour, be it in nature or through the painterly processes required to bring this to life on a given surface.
In Emergence, Cox Carlos paints intuitively. Images come to the surface. She reacts to them and this pushes the work on. Never knowing what is going to appear from the initial mark making, she likes this element of surprise: “I think it keeps me and the work ‘fresh’,” she said.
The word emergence began to come into Cox-Carlos’s mind as she created this body of work. On checking the exact meaning of emergence (‘the process of becoming visible after being concealed’), all she could think was ‘how appropriate – serendipity!’.
The artists states: “These paintings are truly a celebration of life and living it to the full. This work is pushing my materials to a new level and savouring this new step forward, embodied in the title piece – a painting installation.
“We have all, as a collective and individually, been through a traumatic time and experience, having come through the trauma of various lockdowns and all the challenges we encountered during the recent Covid pandemic.
“Historically, we Irish tend to sweep all things unpleasant under the carpet. The impact of this experience is still only coming through. We need to talk about this and keep the lines of communication open. These works are a reaction to the last two years.
“I intend the viewing of my art to be an uplifting and experience and use a vibrant range of colours, textures and patterns. Above all I hope that the viewer will forget all of what is going on in these turbulent times and experience even a moment’s joy and happiness in the presence of one of my pieces.”
Cox-Carlos was awarded an honours degree from the Limerick College of Art and Design in 2004.
Emergence by Siobhán Cox-Carlos is available to view at Cúige Studios until May 7, Sundays to Wednesdays, noon-4pm.
(Article by Cúige studios.)