Caoimhe Kilfeather × Mary Cremin

Matsuo Basho, a Japanese poet famous for using words to express the inexpressible, writes of deep silence. In Caoimhe Kilfeather’s work there is a parallel to be found in the deep silence one finds in her work. Her exhibition this attentive place seemed apt for this moment we live in, it was a space of sanctuary and repose that stayed with me long after the exhibition was over. The exhibition at Temple Bar Gallery + Studios was delineated by a large curtain of azure paper that lent a blue hue to the space. Carefully placed throughout the gallery were objects made from concrete, steel, and iron denoting Kilfeather’s particular aesthetic that is both familiar and slightly removed. There is a quiet eloquence to the work that is welcome in these times of crisis, disinformation, doom scrolling and rolling lockdowns.

Mary Cremin is Director of Void Gallery, Derry. She was the curator and commissioner of the Irish Pavilion with artist Eva Rothschild at the Venice Biennale, 2019.