Art at the Falls: When Art, Artists and Conversation Come Together in Kenmare
There are art exhibitions, and then there are occasions when you're given the opportunity to meet the people behind the art, to hear their stories, ask questions and understand something of what inspires them to create.
For those of us from Kenmare Tourism who had the pleasure of attending the opening of Art at the Falls at Sheen Falls Lodge on Sunday, it was very much the latter.
Following the success of its inaugural exhibition last year, Gormleys has returned to Kenmare with an extraordinary collection of modern and contemporary art, displayed not within the confines of a traditional gallery but throughout the hotel, gardens and magnificent riverside grounds of Sheen Falls Lodge.
The setting is, of course, difficult to rival. Sculpture appears among the trees, beside the river and throughout the gardens, while inside the hotel Irish contemporary artists share space with internationally recognised names including Andy Warhol, Banksy and Tracey Emin.
But for us, what made Sunday's opening particularly special wasn't simply the calibre of the art. It was meeting the artists.
The people behind the work
The afternoon began with a guided tour led by James from Gormleys, bringing us through the exhibition and introducing some of the stories behind the works and the artists who created them.
That personal connection continued throughout the evening. After a Champagne reception in the Drawing Room, guests gathered for dinner and The Art of Conversation, with Mary McCarthy, Director of the Crawford Art Gallery, moderating a panel with artists Martin Mooney, Liam O'Neill and Debbie Chapman. The evening also included a special tribute to the late Kenmare artist Christine Bowen, a five course dinner and wines by Executive Chef Mark Treacy and his team, and a performance by Blackwater Valley Opera.
There was an open microphone for questions, but the conversations weren't confined to the panel.
Artists, sculptors, guests and art lovers were sitting together around the tables. Conversations continued over dinner. You could ask somebody about a painting you had just seen, discover what prompted it, or hear about a completely unexpected chapter in an artist's career and it all made art feel wonderfully accessible.
And perhaps that's one of the greatest strengths of an event such as this.
Debbie Chapman: empathy, humanity and a riot of colour
One of the artists taking part in The Art of Conversation and who we had the pleasure of sharing a table with, was contemporary Irish artist Debbie Chapman, whose work immediately draws you into a very particular world.
Her paintings explore something deeply human: the fragility of our existence and our relationships with one another and with the world around us.
The figures inhabiting Debbie's paintings are imagined, otherworldly beings, but the ideas behind them are surprisingly familiar. Her work considers humanity, ecology, empathy and kindness, and particularly the importance of togetherness at a time when society can often feel increasingly fractured.
There is also wonderful energy in the work. Her latest paintings mark a return to oil on canvas, using bold expanses of colour balanced with quieter, muted tones. Titles such as My Heart Is A Fragile Thing, The Real Gift Is in the Giving, To Nourish And Guide and The Sweetest Songs Are In The Singing give some sense of the emotional world she creates.
Born in County Wexford and having lived in London, Brisbane and Tasmania, Debbie now works from her studio in West Dublin. Her work has been commissioned for public, corporate and private collections in Ireland and internationally, and in 2023 she collaborated with U2's Adam Clayton on an artwork for the Elephant in the Room project supporting Samaritans.
Hearing an artist speak about her work while being able to see that work around you brings another dimension to experiencing it. Suddenly the painting has a voice and a story behind it.
A Shergar story I certainly wasn't expecting
Another wonderful discovery during the exhibition was the work of Irish equine artist and sculptor John Fitzgerald.
Born in County Meath, John has become known internationally for his equine, sporting and portrait work. He has painted some of Ireland's great racing figures and horses and has also developed an acclaimed body of equine sculpture.
But it was one particular story that caught our imagination.
In 2018, John was commissioned by BAFTA winning filmmaker Alison Millar to paint Shergar for the BBC documentary Searching for Shergar. The commission brought his work to an audience of millions and added another remarkable chapter to the story of Ireland's most famous racehorse.
There is something very special about standing in Kenmare, talking about the work of a living Irish artist and suddenly finding yourself transported into one of the great stories of Irish sporting and social history.
These are the connections that exhibitions like this create.
A very special tribute to Christine Bowen
At the heart of the evening was something particularly special for Kenmare: a beautiful and deeply personal tribute to the late Christine Bowen.
Christine, who died in February of this year, was a hugely important part of Kenmare's artistic community. She lived and worked here for many years, first from her gallery on Henry Street and later from her home studio, while exhibiting extensively throughout Ireland and internationally. Her work is held in numerous important collections, including AIB, the Office of Public Works and the Department of the Taoiseach.
But nowhere is Christine's connection more immediately visible than at Sheen Falls Lodge.
Her extraordinary reception mural has greeted generations of guests, her botanical mural fills The Falls Restaurant and her paintings can be found throughout the hotel. Her work was not simply displayed at Sheen Falls. Over the years, it became part of the fabric and personality of the property itself. That made Sunday's tribute particularly moving.
Christine's family joined guests for the evening and we had the great pleasure of meeting her two daughters Caroline and Julia Daisy and her son Nicholas Daisy. Having Christine's family in the room made the evening wonderfully personal. This was a celebration not only of an artist and her extraordinary body of work, but of a mother, friend and wonderfully colourful character who left an enormous impression on the people around her.
Dr Frances Ruane, art adviser and critic, gave a beautiful tribute to Christine, reflecting on her life, her work and the originality that distinguished her as an artist. It was particularly poignant to hear those words while sitting in a room surrounded by Christine's work. There was something very special about that.
And Christine's enduring presence at Sheen Falls also speaks to something broader: the importance of patronage and of businesses actively supporting art and culture.
The continued commitment of Sheen Falls Lodge and its owner, Dr Stanley Quek, to art has allowed creativity to become part of the experience of the hotel rather than simply decoration within it. Through Christine's extraordinary legacy and now through the partnership with Gormleys and Art at the Falls, that commitment reaches far beyond the hotel itself.
When a business and a passionate owner provides a platform for artists, brings a gallery of Gormleys' calibre to Kerry and creates opportunities for audiences to actually meet and converse with working artists and sculptors, it contributes to the cultural life of the entire community.
That matters for Kenmare. It matters for Kerry. And it matters for Irish artists.
Why events like this matter
Ireland produces extraordinary painters, sculptors, designers, makers, photographers and craftspeople.
But artists need more than galleries in our major cities. They need audiences, advocates, commissioners and opportunities for people to encounter their work.
Bringing an exhibition of this calibre to Kenmare does exactly that.
And Sunday's evening took it a stage further by allowing us to meet the people behind the work.
That human connection is powerful. A painting or sculpture that you may initially admire aesthetically becomes something entirely different once you understand who created it, what prompted it and the story that sits behind it. It also makes art less intimidating.
You don't have to be an expert. You can simply look, ask a question, listen and decide what speaks to you.
From Art at the Falls to Design Kenmare
And wonderfully, the creative conversation in Kenmare doesn't end when Art at the Falls closes.
This autumn will see the return of Design Kenmare, bringing another gathering of exceptional creative people to the town and continuing that same philosophy of making creativity accessible through conversation.
Design Kenmare describes itself as bringing together talented design professionals across graphic and fashion design, interiors, photography, visual art and making, allowing audiences to hear them discuss not just their finished work but their influences and challenges.
Some of the creative relationships and artists we encounter through events such as Art at the Falls continue into that wider Kenmare cultural calendar.
And that is enormously exciting.
We have the opportunity to establish Kenmare not simply as somewhere beautiful in which to display art and design, but as somewhere artists and creative people genuinely want to come together.
A place for conversation. A place for collaboration.
And a place where audiences can meet some of Ireland's finest creative people in an unusually personal setting.
Put this one in the diary
Art at the Falls is not an event that should feel as though it belongs only to hotel guests or established art collectors.
It is here in Kenmare and it is open to everyone.
Gormleys' exhibition includes work by leading Irish artists alongside internationally recognised names such as Andy Warhol, Banksy and Tracey Emin, with sculpture positioned throughout the extraordinary landscape surrounding Sheen Falls Lodge.
Go and wander.
Look at the sculptures in the grounds. Spend time with the paintings. Find Christine Bowen's murals. Discover Debbie Chapman's extraordinary figures. Find an artist whose name you didn't know before you arrived.
That, surely, is what a successful arts event should do.
And after the warmth, conversation and genuine enthusiasm of Sunday's opening, it is difficult not to imagine Art at the Falls becoming an increasingly important fixture in Kenmare's cultural calendar.
We very much hope to see it return in 2027, with even more people discovering what is already becoming a very special event for Kenmare. Many thanks to Dr. Quek for welcoming us all to this wonderful event.
Art at the Falls
Sheen Falls Lodge, Kenmare
13th September and 12th October 2026
Open daily from 11am to 7pm
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