ARTIST Lelia Henry

Lelia Henry - Nua Collective - Artist - Profile - Colour
Lelia Henry is an artist based in Westmeath, working mainly in charcoal and graphite. Her concern for the loss of the natural world drives her to create meticulously rendered drawings, through which, she asks us to re examine our connection to the ordinary, everyday aspects of our immediate environment. She has won a number of awards and bursaries and her work is held in numerous public and private collections, including the Office of Public Works.

Lelia was recently awarded an MA in Art and Process from Crawford College of Art, Cork. Her concern for the loss of the natural world drives her to create meticulously rendered drawings, through which, she asks us to re examine our connection to the ordinary, everyday aspects of our immediate environment.

She has won a number of awards and bursaries, including the Thomas Dammann Junior Memorial Trust Award, Arts Council Travel and Training Award, and Irish Landscape Artist of the Year at the National Open Art Competition, London. She has exhibited at the RHA and the RUA, The Society of British Marine Artists, and her work is held in numerous public and private collections, including the Office of Public Works.

Lelia-Henry-Artist-in-context-pic

Drawing forms the core of my practice.  I work mainly in charcoal and graphite to create works which explore neglected and overlooked elements of the rural landscape. Through my drawings, I examine the relationship between these neglected spaces, and the enduring impact of human activity. Devoid of figures, the implied presence of man is often of central importance. My concern for the loss of the natural world drives me to create meticulously rendered drawings, through which I ask the viewer to examine our connection to the ordinary everyday aspects of our immediate environment.

I am particularly interested in the writings of American political scientist, Jane Bennett, and British anthropologist, Tim Ingold. Both argue that in order to motivate people to act on behalf of the environment, we must first encourage them to reconnect on a visceral level with their immediate surroundings. We do this through taking note of the ordinary, everyday things on our doorstep. My drawings offer the viewer a quiet space for reflection in which to consider our relationship to our world around us.

Nua Collective - Artist - Lelia Henry - Minaun - Charcoal on Arches paper

‘Minaun’, Charcoal on Arches paper, 2018

ARTWORKS BYLelia Henry

ARTIST’S Accolades

Awards

2018:

  • Thomas Dammann Junior Memorial Trust Award.
  • Westmeath County Council Artist Bursary.

2017:

  • Irish Artist of the Year. National Open Art Competition. London.
  • Arts Council Travel and Training Bursary.
  • Mentored Drawing Access Place. RHA.
  • Westmeath County Council Artist Bursary.

2016:

  • Westmeath County Council awarded Tyrone Guthrie Residency.
  • Donegal County Council Bursary.

2015:

  • Westmeath County Council Artist Bursary.

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions:

  • 2021: Seamus Ennis Arts Centre, Dublin.
  • 2019: Beyond the Sea.  ARDS Arts Centre, Newtownards, Co Down.
  • 2017: Coast. Signal Art Centre, Bray, Co Wicklow.

Group Shows:

  • 2020:
    – Ciacla, Contemporary Irish Art Centre, LA. Online Exhibition.
    – Dublin Painting and Sketching Club Annual Exhibition, Dublin.
  • 2019:
    – PUSH. MA Exhibition, Crawford College of Art, Cork.
    – Royal Society of Marine Artists, Mall Galleries, London.
    – Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition. Dublin.
    – Dublin Painting and Sketching Club Annual Exhibition. CHQ, Dublin.
    – Lavitt Gallery, Annual Member’s Exhibition, Cork.
  • 2018:
    – Invited Artist.  Dublin Painting and Sketching Club’s Annual Exhibition.
    – CHQ Building, Dublin.
    – Invited Artist. Run. Hyde Bridge Gallery, Sligo.
  • 2017:
    – National Open Art Winners Exhibition. Pallant House Gallery. Chichester.
    – National Open Art Competition. Oxo Tower Wharf. London.
    – Royal Ulster Academy Annual Exhibition. Belfast.
    – RHA Annual Exhibition, Dublin.
    – Elsewhere, Luan Gallery, Athlone.
    – Easter Open Art Exhibition, Glebe House Gallery, Letterkenny. Donegal.
    – Dublin Painting and Sketching Club Annual Exhibition
  • 2016:
    – RHA Annual Exhibition. Dublin.
    – Dublin Painting and Sketching Club Annual Exhibition. Dublin.
    – Cairde Visual, Hyde Bridge Gallery Sligo.
    – Ranelagh Arts Centre Winter Exhibition. Dublin.
    – Rua Red Winter Open Exhibition. Dublin.
    – Escape. Dunamaise Arts Centre, Portlaoise.
    – Three Perspectives. Abbey Road Artists Studios, Athlone.
  • 2015:
    – RHA Annual Exhibition. Dublin.
    – Royal Ulster Academy Annual Exhibition, Belfast.
    – Yeats. Poetry and Place. Hyde Bridge Gallery. Sligo.
    – Dunamaise Open Submission, Portlaoise.
    – Listoke Open Submission, Drogheda.
    – Boyle Open Submission, Boyle, Co. Roscommon.
    – Cairde Visual, Hyde Bridge Gallery, Sligo.
    – Birr Open Submission, Birr, Co. Offaly.

Education

  • 2019:  MA Art and Process, Crawford College of Art, Cork
  • 2010:  Drawing Program, Florence Academy of Art, Florence.
  • 2008: Certificate in Drawing and Visual Investigation, NCAD, Dublin.
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