Tracy Cronin : 'Turning the Tables' Exhibition 2013 by Art group 7

I am involved in an artist group in Cork city called Art Group 7. Below is a write up about our first exhibition published by 'Cork Arts Review'.
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Turning the Tables in the Cork Vision Centre is an exhibition by art educators. The catalyst for the show by Art Group 7 was to turn the tables on themselves. To create a forum for their students to see their work. This is a brave and beneficial move for both parties, breaking down the barriers often found between tutors and students. By showing their work to the students they are revealing a very personal side of themselves, something students don’t often encounter. Art educators work as educators for many different reasons, some use it as a means to pay the bills so they can sustain their own art practice, others decide after their own art education that they would rather a more sustainable career in education, along with many other reasons. But it is clear these educators balance pedagogy and visual art equally.

The group are comprised of Daniel Sexton, Declan O’Meara, Evelyn Egan-Rainy, Mark Ewart, Sandra Norris, Tracy Cronin and Zara McDaid. The greater part of the work on show was painting, but also displayed were illustrative prints, photographs and ceramics. Mark Ewart’s landscape paintings incorporated both a sense of serenity and memory but also at times had a darker undercurrent as though the landscapes are charred or scraped away. Ewart also employs the use of the Ipad. This series of Ipad paintings, sit comfortably next the more traditional oil paintings. The Ipad paintings are intimate and instant snapshot’s of landscapes. Evelyn Egan-Rainey’s ceramics are a refreshing three dimensional addition to the show. Bowls and tiles become a focal point of the show with their brightly patterned glazes and fluid organic shapes and textures.

This was the first exhibition in a few years for many of Art Group 7. It is certainly an interesting concept and for viewers it would be appealing to see the groups work develop through future exhibitions, placing the viewer in a position similar to the teacher, who watches his students work progress.