Galway artist Pádraic Reaney has been selected to represent Ireland in a major international exhibition that celebrates the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations, the international organisation, dedicated to peace, security, democracy and providing humanitarian aid to those in need.
Carraroe-born Pádraic is one of 216 artists from 193 countries across the six continents taking part in this prestigious show.
It’s planned to run the worldwide exhibition at the UN Headquarters in New York early next year – Covid-19 restrictions permitting – and also at the organisation’s base in Geneva. At present, all the artworks can be seen in an online version of the show.
The project has been organised by the Romanian-based Inter-Art Foundation, under the patronage of that country’s president, H.E. Klaus Werner Iohannis. It’s the fourth time Inter-Art has been invited to exhibit at the UN and the first time ever that artists from all 193 members states of the UN have come together for one single show.
The Inter-Art Foundation was established in 1998 in the Romanian city of Aiud to represent contemporary art, develop cultural connections between artists in Romania and worldwide, and organise an international fine-arts camp in Aiud.
The current exhibition is entitled United Nations – Symbol of Life, Freedom and Happiness and its aim is to mark the organisation’s foundation in 1945, as well as the role of artists in promoting freedom, co-existence co-operation and understanding.
The image that Pádraic created for the exhibition is based on the theme of freedom.
The artist, who lives in Moycullen, is known in Ireland and abroad for his exploration of subjects from the Táin Bó Cúailnge to the Great Famine, and the poetry of WB Yeats.
His most recent work has focused on deserted houses on Ireland’s offshore islands.
He is hopeful the physical show celebrating the UN will go ahead in New York in 2021.
In the meantime, the artworks can be seen online at
www.inter-art.ro/un2020/