Lorica Artworks, at One Elm Square in downtown Andover, is currently showing paintings by 26 artists in an exhibit entitled ?Silent Poetry,? which will remain on display through the end of January. Lorica takes its name from Celtic lore and means a breastplate for the soul, according to owner Mia Guerrera.
The works include landscapes, seascapes, still life portraits and abstract art by painters not yet discovered outside of Northern Ireland, a place better known for poetry and parades than for painting.
“To many Americans, paintings of the Antrim coast or the Tyrone countryside aren’t as recognizable as those featuring Dublin or the Dingle Peninsula,? Guerrera said. ?That’s because tourists have been reticent about visiting Northern Ireland in the past and haven’t yet discovered the incredible scenery.
“The artists in this show have a strong following in their own localities, and their new works are highly anticipated. Most make their living through their art, a sign of achievement in itself.”
The exhibit includes artists like Brian Ferran, formerly the head of the Northern Ireland Arts Council, whose works are widely known throughout Ireland. Ferran spends part of the year living in the Boston area. His wife, Denise Ferran, also an accomplished painter, is education director at the Ulster Museum.
Also on display are the works of John Manson, an 85-year-old artist from Ballycastle, Co. Antrim, a lifelong proponent of traditional Irish landscape painting. Manson is joined by other landscape specialists like Mary Christie, Pat Crowley and Mary O’Brien.
The paintings in the exhibit range in price from $500 to $3,700.
Guerrera got involved with Ulster art several years ago when traveling to Northern Ireland with her husband, Arthur McCabe, an Irish-American businessman. She became acquainted with gallery owners and individual painters and in 2000 held her first show at the Lawrence State Heritage Park. It was a critical and commercial success.
In November 2002, she formally opened Lorica Artworks as a year-round venue for Irish painters. The exhibits have been favorably received by both the Irish and the arts communities and Guerrera has scheduled another exhibit of Irish paintings for March 2004.
Lorica Artworks is the second gallery in Massachusetts fully devoted to Irish art. It joins the Aisling Gallery, at 229 Lincoln St. in Hingham, run by John and Maureen Connolly, which specializes in original paintings as well as Celtic designs and prints from the National Gallery.
Maureen Connolly, who hails from County Kerry, and John, a Bostonian, have been operating the shop since 1989, proving that Irish art has a viable market in New England.
One of Aisling’s most popular painters at the moment is Vincent Crotty, a Cork-born painter who lives in Boston. Four of Crotty’s paintings appeared in the film ?Mystic River,? which was shot in Boston.
Other popular Aisling artists include Daniel Gaudette, who moved from Massachusetts to the Dingle Peninsula to paint, and Deirdre McCullough Grumwald, who specializes in Celtic motifs inspired by the Book of Kells.
New civic pride
The establishment of Lorica Artworks is part of a wider effort to strengthen ties with Ireland and Northern Ireland in the Merrimack Valley, according to David R. Burke, head of the Irish Foundation in Lawrence, which promotes Irish cultural and educational activities in the area.
Burke said the area was heavily settled in the 19th century by Irish immigrants who came to work in the mills around Lowell, Lawrence, Andover and Haverhill. Local Irish identity remains strong, though in recent years most of the new immigrants have come from Central and South America, the Caribbean and Asia.
Burke credits Lawrence Mayor Michael J. Sullivan for sparking a new civic pride in Lawrence after the former mill city stagnated for several decades. Last year Sullivan announced a blueprint for a revitalized city that calls for new schools, technology parks, and cultural districts that knit together the city’s immigrant and American residents.
The mayor’s office has been working with Arthur McCabe and other developers to establish an international business district in South Lawrence, and have already signed on a Northern Ireland software company to set up an office here. The industrial park is slated to open next year and will further anchor the Northern Ireland presence in the region.
Right now, it is the artists who are strengthening the connection. Several painters featured in past exhibits have journeyed to the U.S., and have been inspired to capture some of New England’s famous coastline on canvas. Some of those works are also on display at Lorica Artworks.
For information on Lorica Artworks, visit http://www.loricaartworks.com/index.shtml. For Information on Aisling Gallery, visit http://www.aisling-gallery.com.