14th to the 28th November 2007 Art Exhibition

Speech by Cllr. Damien Geoghegan, Mayor of Dungarvan

First of all as mayor of Dungarvan and first citizen it's my pleasant duty and personal pleasure to welcome you all here this evening and particularly to welcome all our visitors to Dungarvan for this exhibition. I'm sure some of you may have visited before and if you have, you're certainly welcome back and for those of you here visiting for the first time I extend a hearty cead mile failte.

At the outset this evening I wish to state that I've attended and spoken at many art exhibitions since my election as a councillor back in 1999, but this is in fact the first time I've been asked to officially open an art exhibition and I very much appreciate the invitation to come here this evening to the opening of this particular Art Exhibition by eveleen power and I wish to express my gratitude to both herself, and indeed Bo, for asking me to do the honours.

With regard to the venue this evening, I'm delighted Eveleen that you chose Dungarvan Library for your exhibition as I believe it will certainly expose your work to a wider audience that may not otherwise have gotten to see it. I would also at this point like to congratulate and compliment Waterford Co Library service under the guidance of Donal Brady for giving artists the opportunity to show their work. Waterford Co Council and indeed Dungarvan Town Council are very proud that in addition to the Market House Arts Centre, we have facility such as this here in our midst also, which is regarded as one of the finest public libraries in Ireland.

From my own point of view I believe the arts play a crucial role in encouraging society to address the changes that the pace of modern life brings. It's important that we as public representatives understand that and that artists have an opportunity to showcase their work, whether that be painting, sculpture, textiles or even literature, music and performance. I must also state that one of the things which has become quite noticeable to me is that there is a richness of artistic endeavour to be found here in Waterford and in Dungarvan in particular which should certainly be nurtured and encouraged at every opportunity.

With regard to the exhibition itself and Eveleen's work, I must say that certainly I don't regard myself in any way as being an expert in relation to art but I do have to say that what strikes me about your work is its vibrant originality, variation of styles and variation of subjects and it is indeed a fantastic tribute to your talent.

George Bernard Shaw once said "You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul." While Eveleen's works reflect her own life experiences, I believe they enable us, the viewers, to see more. I believe she has captured the essence of life beautifully in such paintings as Eye Contact, Hello, and my own particular favourite Adam.

When one actually looks and studies your work it's obvious that you're not only passionate about art for arts sake, but your passionate about your home place and where you're from. You've certainly captured landscapes and seascapes of Co Waterford, in the most amazing fashion. But of course given Eveleen's family background, and in particular her father Sean's strong influence, it really is no wonder that her great talents should also find expression in both lanscape and seascape paintings I must say I'm particularly impressed with how you've captured brilliantly Places like Villierstown, Clonea, Abbeyside, The Barnawee and brought them to life in spectacular fashion. Another favourite piece here being The Barnawee.

If asked to sum up your work I would say that I regard your work as a celebration of people, of emotion, of place. Indeed, I believe these works of art are a celebration of life itself.

Now, as I mentioned, we all know Eveleen comes from a family synonymous with artistic endeavour here in Dungarvan, and I certainly feel it would be remiss of me not to also single out her father Sean for special mention this evening. Sean, who has himself held many successful exhibitions down through the years, is extremely well known as an artist, particularly as an established landscape artist and I ‘m sure, with his influence clear for all to see in Eveleen's paintings and having taught Eveleen from a young age and introducing her to art, Sean is very proud of her achievements to date as an artist.

Finally I'd like to once again say to Eveleen that this is a fantastic exhibition. I compliment you on your work and congratulate you on mounting what will be I'm sure a very successful exhibition here in Dungarvan Library, and as your reputation continues to grow and flourish, I congratulate you and wish you every success with your work.

To all of you here this evening I say thank you for your attention, may you all have a very pleasant evening, look around you and enjoy and I‘ll finish with a quote from Henry Ward Beecher who once famously said that "Art is the means by which we communicate what it feels like to be alive. Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures."

This is certainly true of Eveleen Power and her art and I declare Eveleen Power's Autumn Exhibition officially open. Go raibh mile maith agaibh go leir.