Munster Express
11th July 2003
Liam Murphy

The current exhibition at Joan Clancy Gallery in Ring Seachrán Samhraidh (Summer Fling) is full of bargains and the Rinn peninsula in Summer is a natural gallery in itself. Work by John Cullinan, Martin Quigley and Wishy Martin reflect pastoral settings and a young artist from Carrick-on-Suir, Andrew O'Dwyer, has two fine examples of the scraped back mono-tone of shades of fencolours.

In a jigsaw of shapes faces emerge and merge out of a scumbled cloud and if you look side-ways-on you might see Elvis. Danny Cunnningham's layered mottled, splashy style is very fashionable.

The exhibition is dominated by recent work from Rayleen Clancy who will never be on offer at such reasonable prices again. Four of her workaddy Helvick landscapes were snapped up, but it is her figurative work that catches and confronts the viewer with its severe and imperious faces that stare out at you in theatrical poses.

The theatrical cinematic feel is hightened by the use of bright red wigs on the studies and a quartet of images in kimonos floating on pools of light against a clashing green background is stunning. The photographic techniques makes the bodies seem shortened and the heads seem larger and more threatening. If you are interested in psychology then there are issues of identity at work in these paintings but RELATIVE THOUGHTS is a splendid canvas at €500. Some of this work can be very inward looking like I.D. and KIN but that is the paradox as the eyes, the faces, look out at you. Sometimes people buy paintings for the landscapes or familiar settings but Rayleen Clancy is at the stage where people will buy her work because it is the work of Rayleen Clancy.