Official Art Ireland Press Release
November 2004

Distinguished Iraqi Painter
Among Host of Overseas Talent at Art Ireland

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Works by artists from as far afield as Iraq, Finland, Brazil, Australia, Eastern Europe and Spain bring a major international dimension to the fifth annual Art Ireland exhibition in Main Hall of Dublin's RDS over the weekend of November 19th-21st 2004. Ireland's biggest annual art fair, this year's event offers a unique overview of the contemporary world arts scene, thanks to a big increase in the number of overseas artists taking part.

These Include Iraqi painter and sculptor Ahmed Al-Safi, who continues to work actively in the centre of Baghdad in the midst of the turmoil that has engulfed the country since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Strongly influenced by ancient Sumerian and Babylonian imagery, yet presented in abstract, impressionist style, his works are considered to be highly collectible and have been extolled by such disparate personalities as Saddam Hussein and America's J. Paul Bremmer..

His work is being shown at Art Ireland by ArtVitae.com, the successful internet gallery that represents a host of artists from around the world, including several from Iraq. According to ArtVitae Director Michael Loyer, difficulties faced by Iraqi artists attempting to export their works during the current crisis means they have been limited to exhibiting only a few of Al Safi's works at Art Ireland.

Increased social, political and economic contacts with former iron curtain states resulting from the enlargement of the EU earlier this year is reflected by the participation of the Prague-based Le Siants Gallery and the Art Universe Gallery, Lviv, Ukraine . Their presence at Art Ireland represent a timely opportunity to experience contemporary Eastern European art at its best. Between them, the two galleries are exhibiting works by a score of artists from the region, as well as Armenia, Georgia, Siberia and Kazakhstan.

From Helsinki, the Nordic ArtWorks group is exhibiting paintings by four of Finland's best-known artists while the Gallery based at Manchester Art House and EMY/ART, from San Sebastien in Northern Spain are displaying works by leading artists from their respective regions.

Art Ireland is also featuring works by some of Brazil's most talented artists courtesy of UK-based Philip Cox Fine Art, while Juliet Burton Fine Arts offers a glimpse of the contemporary art scene in Sydney, Australia. Also taking part is the Andipa Gallery, London, which regularly offers works by a host of contemporary and modern artists such as Bacon, Hockney, Picasso, Warhol and Matisse.

"Against the background of the daily headlines from Iraq, it's very easy to overlook the fact that this is a country with a great artistic tradition and many talented contemporary artists. For this reason, we are very pleased Iraq is among the large number of countries represented at this year's exhibition," says Art Ireland founder and organiser Maria McMenamin.

At a time when Irish audiences are becoming more adventurous in their tastes, the presence of so many talented international artists gives this year's fair very strong appeal. For example, Eastern European art tends to be much edgier than what we are used to in this part of the world. Many of these artists have never exhibited in Ireland before and are well worth coming to see."

Art Ireland also remains an important showcase for established and emerging artists from both the Republic and Northern Ireland, featuring hundreds of works by dozens of contemporary artists under a single roof. Among those taking part will be Terry Bradley, Philip S. Childs, Conrad Frankel, Daragh Muldowney, Mary Pickering, Kevin Sharkey and Claudio Viscardi.

Art Ireland takes place in the Main Hall, RDS, Dublin 4, Friday-Sunday November 19th-21st 2004. Opening hours: 12-9pm Friday, and 11 am-7pm Saturday and Sunday. Admission E 10 (E 5 concession). Catalogues available. For further information about the event, contact Maria McMenamin, Eriva, Terenure Enterprise Centre, 17 Rathfarnham Road, Dublin 6. (Tel: 01-490 3237) or visit the Art Ireland website www.irishartfair.com.

Press Release Ends

Issued on behalf of Art Ireland 2004 by CN Media.

For further information contact:

Jan van Embden (Tel: 353 1 282 9853 or Email: jan@cnmedia.ie)
or
Maria McMenamin (Tel: 353 87 617 5418)




Art Ireland 2004 - Background Notes

Art Ireland marks an important milestone this autumn when the exhibition takes place in the RDS for the fifth successive year. The first Art Ireland exhibition took place in November 2000 when almost 5,000 visitors spent just under E1 million at the fair. Since then, the event has grown strongly. Last year, Art Ireland set new records when over 8,500 visitors spent more than E 2 million on paintings, sculptures and other works of art. Exhibitor space at this year's event is at a premium with more than 130 independent artists and galleries taking part. With prices ranging from E 150 for an original print to E 75, 000 for an original Picasso print, Art Ireland caters for all budgets. The event has attracted high profile art collectors including Norma Smurfit, Brian Dobson, Mike Murphy, Dermot Desmond, Pauline McLynn and Michael Flatley. Art Ireland has consistently featured works by the country's leading artists from the present and past, including Robert Ballagh, Brian Bourke, Graham Knuttel, Louis le Brocquy , John Shinnors and Jack B. Yeats. Earlier this year, Art Ireland became a biannual event when the inaugural Art Ireland Summer Collection took place in early May.

According to founder and organiser Maria McMenamin, the concept behind Art Ireland is to make buying contemporary art an enjoyable experience for seasoned connoisseurs and first time collectors alike. "By bringing together works by so many contemporary artists under a single roof, the fair represents an excellent opportunity to view a wide range of talent and technique, to compare the works of different artists and to get to know what you like," she says.

"From the artists' point of view, Art Ireland helps them reach a wide audience of art lovers who might otherwise not come across their work. The fair's open and accessible nature offers artists a welcome opportunity to exhibit our work to a completely new market. Having successfully pioneered the idea of the open, accessible and large scale European style art fair in Ireland, Maria is determined to develop that success. "Since we began in 2000, we have built up a very loyal following with people coming back to us again and again as a result of very positive word of mouth. Having established the concept, we are now looking to improve the standard by regularly introducing new ideas, such as bringing more eastern European art to the fair," she says.

Ahmed Al-Safi

Among the international artists exhibited by ArtVitae.com at Art Ireland 2004 will be pre-eminent Baghdad artist, Ahmed Al-Safi, who continues to live and work in the Iraqi capital. His highly collectible works are influenced by ancient Sumerian and Babylonian imagery, yet presented in a contemporary, abstract expressionist style.

A graduate of the College of Fine Arts at Baghdad University, Al-Safi's works have been exhibited in important venues in Baghdad where his work has been viewed and extolled by such disparate personalities as Saddam Hussein and America's J. Paul Bremmer. His works have also been exported to prestigious exhibitions outside of Iraq including, the 'Annual International Awarded Exhibition' in San Diego, the 'Exhibition of the Forgotten Country' in Paris, and the 'Exhibition of the Wounded Country', Jordan.

According to Art.Vitae.com Director Michael Loyer, "since this latest invasion of Iraq, it has been all but impossible for Iraqi artists to export their works or indeed to try and eke out any normal existence under the tragic circumstances that have befallen them."

"With no official banking or shipping infrastructure, ArtVitae.com, Al-Safi, and certain intermediaries, at significant financial and personal risk, were, after six arduous and sometimes dangerous months of effort, able to transport the two Al-Safi works, which can be seen at this year's Art Ireland Fair," he says.

The looting of the Iraqi National Museum of Archaeology during the civil unrest that followed the U.S. led invasion of Iraq was well documented by the media worldwide. Less widely reported was the looting and virtual destruction of Iraq's National Art Gallery, The Saddam Arts Centre. In the aftermath of this incident, looters could be found peddling masterpieces of modern Iraqi art on the streets and alleyways of old Baghdad.

Qasim Al-Septi, another Baghdad artist and ArtVitae.com member who also runs the Hewar Gallery in the centre Baghdad, described how he sold his car in order to pay one such looter for a number of important paintings from the "Pioneer" period of Iraqi art, the name given to the nascent modern art movement that began in turn-of-the-20th-century Iraq.

Says Michael Loyer, "Qasim's example is but one of many dreadful yet fascinating and heroic stories reported by the tenacious artists still trying to survive and be productive in the surreal world that is present-day Baghdad. No matter what your politics surrounding this war, given decades of repression under the former regime, years of crippling UN sanctions, this latest invasion, and an ongoing guerrilla war, it must be clear to everyone that the losers in all this are the Iraqi people - and their artists may well be among those worst affected. With two thirds of Iraqis unemployed, a decimated infrastructure, and the exit of many of their best former patrons - the employees and dependants of Western embassies and NGOs, Baghdadi artists are truly in dire straits."

American artist Steve Mumford, who has travelled widely and painted many works during the current crisis in Iraq, has also written extensively about the difficulties facing Iraqi artists. A jpeg image of his portrait of Ahmed Al-Safi accompanies these notes.

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