This exhibition examines the tensions between the Celtic Revival of Irish arts and literature in the early twentieth century and the birth of the Modernist movement in Ireland.

Due to its fractured history, the relationship between the archaic and the modern in Ireland has been particularly antagonistic. This show explores the way in which ideological tension manifested itself along geographic lines between urban and rural Ireland and particularly, looks at the glorification of the image of the West among Ireland’s artistic community.

The exhibition features a number of works new to the collection by Mainie Jellet, which we have recently acquired on long-term loan.