BURREN based artist Kaye Maahs will exhibit a new body of work inspired by her travels in Iceland at Claremorris Gallery, Mayo from next Saturday (14th September).
28 new captivating paintings are included in what will be Kaye’s first solo exhibition. Entitled ‘Iceland’, the exhibition is a body of work borne out of diaries Maahs kept during her 2019 residency in Iceland, a journey made possible by the Thomas Dammann Junior Memorial Trust Award.
In her paintings, Maahs’ intuitive and tactical handling of paint revels in the majestic and ethereal settings of the Icelandic landscape. The unpretentious use of paint beckons silently to the viewer; to explore, and to consider our relationship with the natural world, while at the same time calling attention to the physicality of their medium. Maahs works ‘wet into wet’ and it is this immediacy that allows her paintings to retain the energy and excitement of that process.
Living in Corofin, Kaye holds a degree in Fine Art from CCAM GMIT and is known for her contemplative and immersive approach to contemporary painting. Born in Kerry in 1970, she was awarded The Alex Bradley Award for a Mid-Career Artist in 2024 by the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin. Previous to this Maahs’ has been a recipient of two Art Council Agility Awards, the Clare Arts Mentoring Scheme at Glór support by Creative Ireland and the Arts Council and The Thomas Dammann Junior Memorial Trust Award 2019.
Her work has been exhibited in the Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin; the Royal Academy London; Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Mayo; Burren College of Art, Clare; Glór, Clare; Cairde Visual, Sligo: among others.
Iceland opens on 14th September at Claremorris Gallery and will be on view until 5th October. The gallery is open from 1 – 6pm, Wednesday to Saturday, or by appointment.
