Venice @ Golden Thread Gallery 28/05/2010 - 24/07/2010

Venice @ Golden Thread Gallery launches on Friday 28th May 2010 at 6pm. The exhibition features a joint presentation of the exhibitions which represented Northern Ireland and Ireland at the world’s most prestigious visual arts showcase, the Venice Biennale, at Northern Ireland’s leading international contemporary art gallery.

The exhibitions from Northern Ireland and Ireland at the 2009 Venice Biennale showcased the work of Susan MacWilliam (Northern Ireland) and Sarah Browne, Gareth Kennedy and a Kennedy Browne collaboration (Ireland). The Golden Thread Gallery is pleased to bring this work to audiences in the North of Ireland for the first time.

Susan MacWilliam’s presentation for Northern Ireland at the Venice Biennale was organised and funded by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and the British Council and was curated by Karen Downey. MacWilliam is one of the leading artists to emerge from the North of Ireland in the last decade. The Golden Thread Gallery will present her Venice commissioned video work F-L-A-M-M-A-R-I-O-N. Centering on the events of a 1931 séance the work reflects her fascination with the world of the paranormal and raises questions about the possibilities and limitations of language, vision and representation.

Ireland’s presentation in Venice was an initiative of Culture Ireland and the Arts Council/An Chomhairle Ealaíon. The exhibition curated and commissioned by Caoimhín Corrigan, featured solo and collaborative works by Sarah Browne and Gareth Kennedy. Aspects of contemporary Ireland feature strongly in their works, which address issues of identity, labour, globalisation, economics, language, materiality and the construction of social space.

Venice @ Golden Thread Gallery continues until the 24th July 2010.

Susan MacWilliam is a video and installation artist who has spent over ten years exploring the world of the paranormal. Supported by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and British Council, Susan MacWilliam represented Northern Ireland at the 53rd Venice Biennale with a solo exhibition, REMOTE VIEWING which featured three video works. Since premiering at the Biennale MacWilliam’s 2009 F-L-A-M-M-A-R-I-O-N has been exhibited at Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York; National College of Art and Design Gallery, Dublin and Presentation House Gallery, Vancouver and will be exhibited in the 8th Internationale Foto-Trienniale, Esslingen and as a solo show at aceart inc, Winnipeg, both 2010. F-L-A-M-M-A-R-I-O-N has been awarded the 2010 Manitoba Day Award for excellence in archival research. MacWilliam has exhibited in Ireland and internationally for over 15 years and is a lecturer in Fine Art at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin. Her video works are housed in the Drama and Literature Section of the British Library’s Sound Archive. Through archive research, participation in experiments and interviews with leading parapsychologists, MacWilliam has developed an expansive body of video works that mediate between the worlds of art and psychical research.

Sarah Browne and Gareth Kennedy are two artists who, between them, manifest three distinct artistic practices. Browne and Kennedy each have distinct individual practices, but they have also developed a third practice as 'Kennedy Browne'. At the Venice Biennale in 2009, all three practices were represented. At the centre of the work of Gareth Kennedy, Sarah Browne and Kennedy Browne is an engagement of / with people, as well as the explorations around identity, labour, globalization, economics, language, materiality and the construction of social space.

Sarah Browne’s recent exhibitions include Noughties But Nice: Twenty First Century Irish Art, Limerick City Gallery and touring (2009), Everyday, The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon (2008), and commissions for Visualise Carlow and the National Sculpture Factory (both 2007). She has participated in residencies at Fiskars village, Finland (2010), Platform, Vaasa, Finland (2009), apexart, New York (2006) and Bolwick Arts, Norfolk (2004) and was awarded an Arts Council Artist Bursary in 2008 and 2009. Forthcoming exhibitions in 2010 include Warp and Weft, Raven Row, London, and Minimalism and Applied II, Daimler Contemporary, Berlin.

Recent presentations of Gareth Kennedy’s work include A Silent Year, The LAB, Dublin (2009); PROMENADE, Dublin; New Sites, New Fields, Leitrim; AFTER, Leitrim/Roscommon (all 2008); FRED 07, Cumbria, England; Landscapes, The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim; (all 2007).Throughout 2010 Kennedy is developing new projects in Ireland, Sweden, France and Poland.

The Arts Council Northern Ireland - The Arts Council of Northern Ireland is the lead development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland. They are the main support for artists and arts organisations throughout the region, offering a broad range of funding opportunities through Treasury and National Lottery funds. www.artscouncil-ni.org

British Council - The British Council is the United Kingdom's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. The British Council connects people worldwide with learning opportunities and creative ideas from the UK and builds lasting relationships between the UK and other countries. http://www.britishcouncil.org/northernireland

Culture Ireland was established by the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism in 2005 as the national agency for the promotion of Irish arts worldwide. Culture Ireland creates and supports opportunities for Irish artists and companies to present and promote their work at strategic international festivals, venues, showcases and markets. www.cultureireland.gov.ie

The Arts Council of Ireland [An Chomhairle Ealaíon] - The Arts Council is the national agency for funding, developing and promoting the arts in Ireland. www.artscouncil.ie