Liam hosts first show ‘Familiar Horizons’

“I graduated from National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in 2005 with a degree in education,” explains Tallaght-based artist Liam Cousins.

Since then, he has worked continuously as both a practising artist and an art educator.

His current body of work began during lockdown, when he was afforded the “rare gift of time”. He had time to sit, to paint, and to re-engage with his own creative practice while continuing to teach and lecture online.

The absence of commuting created space for reflection and making. During this period, he re-explored his connection to colour and surface.

The process of mixing and layering colour and tones, building the painting, has become one of the most “rewarding aspects” of his work.

This exhibition marks Liam’s first solo show and a significant shift into oil painting. Titled ‘Familiar Horizons’, the work is rooted in home and belonging.

He grew up on a farm in Wexford, and the surrounding landscape has become both subject and source.

The idea of belonging is a “central concept” at the heart of these paintings. They are informed by memories of time spent outdoors, immersed in nature and the rhythms of rural life.

The collection of paintings ranges in scale from smaller 15cm x 15cm panels to larger works measuring 90cm x 90cm.

While primarily figurative, the paintings have a slightly abstracted style also, and this is a direction future work may take.

The paint has been built using layers of paint and textured surfaces, allowing the physical presence of the work to represent direct observations of the landscape.

Liam’s first solo exhibition marks an important and personal milestone in his practice.

He hopes the work offers viewers a moment of pause and quiet connection, and that within these landscapes they may find space for their own reflections and connections.

‘Familiar Horizons’ opens on March 12 at 6:30pm at Frame Experts Gallery in Ranelagh.