CAG.3070 Gary Coyle, At The Museum, 2019, photographic print, 87.6 x 64 cm. Purchased, the Artist, 2020. © the artist.

WORK OF THE WEEK!

Part of a series, At The Museum (2019) by Gary Coyle was taken, as the artist notes, ‘on one of the endless corridors of the Pitti Palace in Florence.’

It is a photograph of a seemingly banal subject: a quiet museum interior – a non-space, as Coyle terms it, devoid of art – featuring a red carpet, red contemporary chair, and red-trimmed curtains. The play of light and shadow, however, animate the image and transform the commonplace into something more meditative.

Coyle, who has long explored museum interiors, ‘realised that this experience was in itself a framing device’ and began to photograph the non-spaces in which art is ‘contained and displayed.’

Reminding him of German photographer Uta Barth, Corban Walker has selected Coyle’s photograph from the Collection for inclusion in his current exhibition, AS FAR AS I CAN SEE: ‘I’m drawn to the significance of how it leads the viewer to another detached space. Doing so, releases the walls, floor and occupants of the gallery with an alternative purpose.’

Gary Coyle (b.1965) embraces various media in his practice, including drawing, photography, and spoken word/performance. He has exhibited widely, both in Ireland and internationally, and is a member of Aosdána and the Royal Hibernian Academy. His video installation, Lost in a Ceo (2022), was recently commissioned and exhibited by MoLI.

At The Museum (2019) by Gary Coyle is featured in AS FAR AS I CAN SEE until 15 January.

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Tune into The Arts House with Elmarie Mawe on Cork’s 96FM and C103FM every Sunday morning as Conor Tallon chats with curator Michael Waldron about each WORK OF THE WEEK! Listen back to this week’s chat here:

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