‘Intriguing’ show at LHQ Gallery for Cork artist Isabel

A solo exhibition by Cork artist Isabel English will be presented at LHQ Gallery on Carrigrohane Rd from September 5 to October 24.

Ms English, from Ballyhea, is a visual artist and educator whose work includes photography, textile, and sculpture. She was awarded the inaugural Emerging Visual Artist Award by Cork County Council in 2024, which provides a bursary and the opportunity to develop a solo exhibition.

“With this award, Isabel English has received support at a key stage in her career as a visual artist,” said Mayor of the County of Cork, Mary Linehan Foley.

“Recent graduates often struggle to continue working in visual arts, having to seek other sources of income through teaching or in other industries. With this award we aim to support artists to continue to work in their chosen field.

“The work that has been produced is intriguing. It is expertly crafted and is of a high standard. It is clear to see the ambition that Isabel has for her career as an artist. I encourage all to visit this wonderful exhibition at our dedicated exhibition space, LHQ Gallery.”

Since 2024, Isabel has focused on creating new art work for this solo exhibition. The exhibition demonstrates a new direction in her practice.

She has used images of ribs as a source for the work, with a source image that has been spliced and rendered beyond recognition and presented to the viewer as a woven image. 

WEAVING

The action of weaving is repeated in other works in the exhibition, as well as in wall-based sculptural pieces made from found materials. The repetition refers the psychological concept of fort/da, which has become shorthand for the compulsion humans have to repeat processes.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a publication produced by Isabel in which Cork-based arts writer Sarah Long and poet Julie Morrissy have written about Isabel’s work.

The exhibition, entitled ‘first-person’, opens at LHQ Gallery on Friday, September 5, at 6pm, with all welcome to attend. LHQ Gallery is in the County Library Building on Carrigrohane Rd, Cork, T12K335, and is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm, and closes on bank holidays.