Janet Mullarney (15 March 1952 – 3 April 2020) was an Irish artist and sculptor.

Janet Mullarney
Born(1952-03-15)15 March 1952[1]
Dublin
Died3 April 2020(2020-04-03) (aged 68)
Florence, Italy
NationalityIrish
AwardsAosdána
Websitehttps://www.janetmullarney.com/

Life and education

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Mullarney was born in Dublin in 1952 and grew up in Rathfarnham. She spent most of her life living in Ireland and Italy, where her final home was, back in Florence. She was one of eleven children. Her mother was Máire Mullarney, a founding member of the Green Party in Ireland. At first, she was educated at home, then at the Loreto Beaufort in Rathfarnham until she was expelled. Mullarney was then sent to prison. Initially, Mullarney began to study psychiatric nursing. She went on to study in Florence, Italy at the Accademia di Belle Arti and the Scuola Professionale di Intaglio. She died on 3 April 2020 after a long illness.[2][3][4]

Career and work

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A public sculpture by Mullarney in Groningen, Netherlands

Irish Times art critic Aidan Dunne wrote:

"Enter Mullarney's world, and you fall through an imaginative trapdoor into another realm of fables and fairy tales, where animal characters stand in for humans and meaning is cut loose from the bounds of convention. Her acrobats and performers evoke the heady, heightened space of the circus ring."[4]

Mullarney's work is in the collections of the Arts Council of Ireland, the OPW, IMMA, and the Hugh Lane Gallery.[5][6] Mullarney was known for "incorporating an extensive range of materials including bronze, wood, plaster, foam, cloth, glass and wax, her dynamic sculptural works reference religious iconography, art history and human relationships."[3]

Mullarney was a member of Aosdána, elected in 1999. She is represented by Taylor Galleries.[4] She has work in the collection of Butler Gallery.[7]

Solo exhibitions

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Awards

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Bibliography

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Mullarney, Janet. The perfect family: Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art. Dublin: Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, 1998. ISBN 9781901702071

Pierini, Marco. Il palazzo delle liberta. Siena Prato: Palazzo delle Papesse, Centro arte contemporanea Gli ori, 2003. ISBN 9788873360773

Sgaravatti, Mariella. Tuscany artists' gardens. London: Thames & Hudson, 2004. ISBN 9780500511954

Marshall, Catherine, and Mary Ryder. Janet Mullarney. Co. Kildare, Ireland: Irish Academic Press, 2019.[14] ISBN 9781788550925

References

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  1. ^ Janet Mullarney obituary: Acclaimed Dublin-born sculptor
  2. ^ "'If you don't know you're being brave, you just do what you have to do...'". independent. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Janet Mullarney". IMMA. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "Death announced of artist Janet Mullarney". RTÉ Ireland's National Television and Radio Broadcaster. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  5. ^ "Guided Tour of IMMA Collection: Then and Now, Janet Mullarney Exhibition at IMMA". RHA. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  6. ^ "Online Collection, Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, free admission". emuseum.pointblank.ie. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  7. ^ "Monastic Site". Butler Gallery. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  8. ^ Fallon, Brian. "Straining, simplified figures". The Irish Times. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g webmaster, Arts Council (4 March 2020). "The Arts Council has expressed its regret at the passing of Visual Artist and Aosdána member Janet Mullarney". www.artscouncil.ie. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  10. ^ Fallon, Brian. "Janet Mullarney". The Irish Times. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  11. ^ "Janet Mullarney at RHA Gallery". www.artforum.com. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  12. ^ Shaffrey, Cliodhna (2010). "Through a Glass Darkly" (PDF). Irish Arts Review. Autumn: 78–81.
  13. ^ "Janet Mullarney: MY MINDS i". Butler Gallery. 24 October 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  14. ^ Laws, Joanne (1 September 2020). "Book Review: Janet Mullarney | The Visual Artists' News Sheet, Sept/Oct 2020 issue". Retrieved 29 July 2022.
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