North Gallery

October 30, 2025 – January 3, 2026

Opening reception Thursday, October 30, 2025, from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM

Artist Shawn Ireland’s Paris series draws inspiration from the interiors and “moments of pause” found in the still life vignettes of painters such as Fantin-Latour, Manet, Derain, and Matisse. These artists were key figures in the poetic realism movement that emerged in nineteenth-century Paris, presenting everyday objects with emotive theatricality. 

Ireland incorporates similarly expressive brushwork into his paintings, paired with a graphic simplicity and rich color palette. His tableaus reveal a tension born of discordant perspectives that play with the picture plane, echoing the approach of self-taught artists like Henri Rousseau and Horace Pippin. The series also prominently features ceramics handmade by Ireland, serving as integral elements within the compositions and uniting his two main artistic pursuits. The result is a compelling synthesis of traditional European still lifes and modernist sensibilities, expressing the joy of discovery inherent in the medium of oil paint itself. 

Ireland began exploring oil painting as a Resident Artist at the Penland School of Craft in North Carolina and continued his studies at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica in Venice, Italy, as well as through the University of Georgia’s Study Abroad Art Program in Cortona, Italy, with which he worked for over fifteen years. He also works with the University of Georgia’s Classics Maymester Program, Europe: Unearthing the Past, which continues to offer opportunities for discovery and renewal through ancient art influences. 

Each year, the Arts Center’s exhibitions team selects one artist from the annual Juried Exhibition whose work shows exceptional promise and deserves broader recognition, inviting them to present a solo show. This year’s awardee, Shawn Ireland, already well-known for his ceramics, captured the selection committee’s attention with his oil painting Night Table.