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This exhibition comprises sculptures and drawings by Irish artist James McKenna, a prominent figure in the visual arts and in literary circles from the 1960s until his death in 2000. Born in Dublin in 1933, McKenna studied at the National College of Art and Design. He was a founding member of both the Independent Artists Group and the Sculptors’ Society of Ireland and exhibited with the Irish Exhibitions of Living Art.  He was awarded the Macaulay Fellowship for Sculpture in 1960 and became a member of Aosdána in 1983. 

James McKenna, Wise Ailbhe, 1972, Walnut, Private CollectionJames McKenna, The Five Lamps, 1966 (Cast 1985), Bronze, Private CollectionJames McKenna, Eamonn an Cnoic Ascending into Dublin, 1970, Yew, 140 x 14 x 13 cm, Private Collection

 

He exhibited widely and his work was included in many international sculpture shows in the 1980s and ‘90s, a retrospective of his work took place at the Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, Co Kildare, in 2002, and its principal gallery is named after him – the McKenna Gallery.  He is well known for several of his public and private commissions including his large limestone monument Resurgence at the University of Limerick; Female Figure and Tree, 1979, at the Central Bank in Sandyford, Co Dublin, and the Gerard Manley Hopkins monument in Monasterevin, Co Kildare.  He was also a noted playwright of The Scatterin’, At Bantry, Citizens’ Tree, The Battering Ram , People without Fame and other works, along with a volume of poems.

A fully-illustrated catalogue with texts by Seán Kissane, Curator: Exhibitions, IMMA, and Susan Daniel McElroy, former Director of Tate St. Ives and a foreword by Enrique Juncosa, Director, IMMA. To buy the catalogue for this exhibition on IMMA’s AbeBooks page click > arrow link” hspace=”0″ src=”/en/siteimages/arrow2.gif” align=”baseline” border=”0″ /><a href=here

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To buy the catalogue for this exhibition on IMMA’s AbeBooks page click > arrow link” hspace=”0″ src=”/en/siteimages/arrow2.gif” align=”baseline” border=”0″ /><a href=here