The Darkest Night, a solo exhibtion by Sheila Naughton

The Darkest Night, a solo exhibition by Sheila Naughton, 15 November - 3 December 2022

15 November - 3 December 2022

Solo show

Artist: Sheila Naughton

Official Opening at 6:30pm on Thursday 17 November by Valeria Ceregini, international visual arts curator and historian.

The show is accompanied by an essay by Valeria Ceregni.

You can view the show in our 3D Virtual Space and download the online catalogue / price list from there or by clicking here.

All Works in this exhibition, except the series on Yupo, are framed in hardwood frames with conservation materials and art glass. Works on Yupo are sold unframed. Framing can be arranged by the gallery if requested. All works are signed on verso.


The Olivier Cornet Gallery is delighted to present Sheila Naughton's first solo exhibition with us. Sheila is a member of our AGA group.

"I am interested in the nature of human experience. Through abstract painting and drawing I try to convey meaning and sensation. I work mainly with watercolour and gouache on paper. The fluidity of water-based media exert a strong appeal, due to the quality and spontaneity of the mark-making. The mark of the human hand is evident in my work and important to me - something individual to human identity when individuality is in crisis. 

The works in this exhibition have their roots in the universal lived experience of the past two years. The world has changed irrevocably. We are no longer an island on the edge of Europe but a tiny country connected to everywhere in the world. The overall theme of the exhibition is the current state of affairs in the world - pandemic, war and climate change. My work is concerned with our states of ‘being’ in the world, but is also about the act of painting itself as a way of processing events and a way of marking a particular time. 

Since Covid, our perspectives on life have been changed dramatically. A new meaning has been brought to globalisation. Who could ever have envisioned that something invisible, originating on the other side of the world could wreak havoc and death and change our lives forever. In many ways we still haven’t processed what has happened and the fall-out and implications it will have in the future.

Having experienced a pandemic, we were shocked to see a war unfolding in Europe, creating a sense of darkness and foreboding. The impending sense of doom finally came to fruition with the attack on the Ukraine and precipitated the current state of affairs affecting numerous countries. We learned that every action from afar has consequences that are far-reaching. We no longer have the option to ignore events that might at first seem at a remove from our daily lives. Planet Earth and humanity seems to be under constant threat from various forces - pandemics, climate change, war and famine and more recently, possible nuclear annihilation. Our very existence seems to be precarious. We realise that we need to act individually and collectively to make changes. We have learned to prioritise that which is truly important in our lives. In the darkness there are glimmers of hope."
Sheila Naughton, October 2022

Here is some information on individual works:

“The Darkest Night” l, ll and lll have their origins in a series of works which grew out of the night of the first shelling of Kiev in the Ukraine, beginning the war.

Lockdown l and ll
Lockdown l references the monotony of counting the days, when we were limited in many aspects of our lives, including a 2 mile travel radius. It was made with a sense of calm resignation amid the chaos. Lockdown ll references the state of agitation when we thought we were through Covid but suddenly found ourselves back in another lockdown. 

Under the Microscope 1 - 8 (Contagion)
These works reference samples of human tissue pressed tightly between two sheets of glass and placed under a microscope. They allude to cellular destruction by invading viruses. Some of the images may appear beautiful, although the reality is not. There is often a strange beauty in sinister things and the interaction and movement of the colours make reference to this. The works are made on Yupo which is not really a paper but a translucent, recyclable, plastic material. Unlike paper, the paint is not absorbed but sits on the surface. The process mimics tissue samples on glass slides. 

Ingress l - lV
These paintings of isolated individual “cells” make reference to the unwanted incursion of foreign bodies or contaminants ingressing into something such as a cell.

In Time-bomb l, the amorphous shape represents the uncertain nature of what exactly the shape of the threat to humanity will be and the fluorescent colour alludes to both climate change and nuclear annihilation as it invades the frame obliterating the structure. 

Covid introduced a lexicon of terms to the general public - in the initial stages of Covid, we learned about air-borne infections. variants, sub-variants etc. “Something in the Air”, “Unknown Variant”, “Strain B” and “Strain C” make reference to these terms. 

“Strange Cloud” refers to a nuclear leak and is derived from a themed exhibition on a given size panel at the OCG in 2018 (preceded by a showing with the gallery at the VUE Art Fair in November 2017). The exhibition, supported by the EPA Ireland, was titled “2 Degrees Celsius”. Though tiny in size, the work is intended to communicate a powerful message through the use of a fluorescent colour. 


Coverage / Reviews

- Your guide to the top exhibitions currently taking place around the country, Philip Carton, Events Calendar, The Business Post, 5 November 2022 ('Time-bomb I' reproduced in the printed version of that listing).

- Must see exhibitions, Philip Carton, The Business Post, 13 November 2022. The article also reviewed Willie Doherty's show at the Kerlin and Corban Walker's show at the Crawford Gallery.

- On Show Two To View, Niall MacMonagle, Art, What Lies Beneath, People & Culture (Theatre & Arts in the online version), Sunday Independent, Sunday 20 November 2022. The article features 'Lockdown II'.


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