For the month of August, Gallery Asna, Clonakilty, presents ‘Ikigai – Happiness in the making,’ a joint exhibition by celebrated ceramicists Etain Hickey and Jim Turner. “Ikigai,” Hickey explains, “is about becoming completely absorbed in your art; it is about taking pleasure in your work, and losing all sense of time as you do. When we flow, we are focused on a concrete task without any distractions; our minds are ‘in order.’”
Ikigai is a Japanese concept which translates roughly as ‘a reason to live.’ It is a concept which encourages people to find and follow what fulfills them in life, to follow that which gives them happiness. For Hickey and Turner, the art form which has propelled them for many decades (Turner was even born into a pottery family), and which gives them concrete purpose and joy, is ceramics. Ikigai, as a concept, unites them, even as their work branches into different directions.
“Our ceramics appear to be very different,” Hickey explains, “Jim’s are sculptural, dry, volcanic-glazed, paper clay vessels,” whilst her’s “are glossy and colourful, with highly-decorated surfaces, embellished with 24-caret gold lustre.”
For this show, Hickey brings her love of clay and watercolour together, in a new body of colourful, life-affirming work. Her nature-inspired bowls and wall dishes are a celebration of life and sit well with her fluid, vibrant paintings. Her distinctive motifs, which include garden birds, raucous rooks, crows and jackdaws, bees, hares, frogs, fish and flora all come from the natural environment, which Hickey so obviously delights in. “Nature,” she enthuses, “is so important to our wellbeing, it sustains, nourishes and refreshes us. The enthralling beauty of our surrounding environment continually inspires me.”
Alongside his partner Etain, Jim Turner is showing a new collection of ikebana vases, gilded tea bowls and paper clay vessels, along with archival pieces that include dry-glazed volcanic pods and ‘quantum elixir’ bottles. He is also presenting a flotilla of sailing vessels and sea paintings, inspired by past sailing experiences. “Jim’s ceramics are ever-evolving,” Hickey writes,“with many diverse influences from encounters with the West Cork land and seascape, to anonymous Minoan pottery and architecture, and a myriad of experiences that register in the unconscious mind.”
‘Ikigai – Happiness in the making’ is a celebration of two artists who have been making work side by side for over forty years in West Cork. The show will continue through to August 31.
The Asna Collection
In 2022 the Clonakilty Community Art Centre rebranded its gallery ‘Gallery Asna,’ and commenced an annual September / October call out for exhibition proposals. The gallery now boasts a full calendar of shows, comprising a mix of solo and group exhibitions, supporting both aspiring and established artists, from all across Ireland and abroad. In 2023 the Art Centre began acquiring work from its gallery shows in order to establish a permanent art collection for Clonakilty. The ‘Asna Collection’ is still in its infancy and in order for it to grow the Art Centre is launching a ‘Friends of the Gallery’ program. The program’s aim is to create a base of members with a passion for art who wish to join the Art Centre in its vision to create a permanent art collection for the town and environs of Clonakilty. The Centre aims to create a collection which strongly represents artists local to the region and which is reflective of the culture, concerns, history and environment of West Cork. By becoming a ‘Friend of the Gallery,’ you will be directly contributing to the creation of the Asna Collection and the upkeep of the gallery. To find out more and to become a ‘Friend,’ please visit www.galleryasna.ie
Artists so far represented in the collection include Etain Hickey, Niki Tait, Jack Knowles, Thady Tra and Michael McSwiney. The works can be viewed in the Art Centre stairwell landing and on line at: www.galleryasna.ie/permanent-collection/
