Taming Light is a group exhibition of new work from Irish and international artists paying tribute to Stanley Kubrick, ten years on from his death. The exhibition comprises 25 paintings, photographs and illustrations inspired by Kubrick and his films and shows at the Light House cinema, Smithfield. Participating artists include: Chris Judge, Joby Hickey, Kiersten Essenpreis, Francis Matthews, Mark Wickham, Geraldine Doherty, Fergal Brennan, Annie Atkins and graffiti artist Maser.
The show is curated by Sunday Business Post film critic John Maguire, who has invited a roster of established and emerging Irish and international artists to pay tribute to their cinematic inspiration. Speaking of Kubrick, Maguire told Movies.ie "In the history of cinema, there have been very few individuals with Stanley Kubrick's vision and nobody who could capture a moment with his sense of grace and wonder. From his first films, Kubrick showed a restless desire to innovate, to change perceptions, to show things in a new light. This is the function of the artist, as I see it."
"Kubrick was a great picture maker" continued Maguire, "his images stay with you forever, but more than that, it is the emotions behind the images that endures. He was a filmmaker whose aim was to draw a map of the landscape of the human spirit - the soul and the imagination. Ten years on from his death in 1999, Kubrick exerts a huge influence, not just on cinema, but on the entire culture. For a new generation of artists, photographers and illustrators, Kubrick is more than just a director, consummate storyteller or technical genius. Kubrick stands as something greater; a genuine film artist; the master of composition, colour, movement and spectacle. Stanley Kubrick: Taming Light pays tribute to one of the great masters of 20th Century cinema and looks forward to a new generation of image-makers to carry on his legacy."
Kubrick has directed some of the most acclaimed films of all time, including 2001: A Space Odyssey; Full Metal Jacket; Spartacus; and A Clockwork Orange. In the history of cinema, there have been very few individuals with Stanley Kubrick's vision and nobody who could capture a moment with his sense of grace and wonder. From his first films, Kubrick showed a restless desire to innovate, to change perceptions, to show things in a new light. Kubrick's images stay the viewer forever, but more than that, it is the emotions behind the images that endures. He was a filmmaker whose aim was to draw a map of the landscape of the human spirit - the soul and the imagination.
The exhibition poster is a specially commissioned piece from Uruguayan illustrator Martin Ansin www.martinansin.com Ansin's hand-drawn retrospective of Kubrick's classic characters, topped by a portrait of the director, is available as a collector's item as a high-quality art print, in a limited edition of 250 only, at Light House Cinema.
The exhibition website www.kubricktaminglight.com has more information on the artists participating in the exhibition, including links to their websites. The site also contains a gallery of the artists work, and specially commissioned monographs on Kubrick's visual genius from various film critics and commentators.
The Taming Light exhibition runs during the month of October and is free of charge.