From NYC With TLC

Build a free bar… An Tigin FRI8SEPT23

t’s a well-known fact that you meet a far more interesting breed of character at an art exhibition.

And if you’re really lucky, you might even meet the artist themselves.

At this weekend’s launch for local-lass-done-very-good Lisa McCleary’s first solo exhibition on home soil, there were windswept and interesting people aplenty right from the moment the first free glass of vino was poured.

Add to that a string trio in the corner, a wandering waitress packing all sorts of pastry treats, a barman who never let your glass get even close to half-empty, and sure, what more could you ask for…?

Well, for the first half-hour or so, the artist. Having worked well into the night to make sure everything was just right in this Greystones pop-up gallery at An Tigin (opposite the cop shop), Lisa McCleary had just an hour to head home and hit the reset button for her turn as homecoming queen.

And with exhibitions in New York, Mexico and just this year, the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin, McCleary is clearly an artist making quite the impression internationally.

But, as Janis Joplin will tell you, there’s something very special about bringing it all back home.

“I’ve never had a solo show where so much of the community has come together to make it happen,” says Lisa, taking a break from the meets agus greets, and great big hugs. “From been given this wonderful space right here in the middle of town, to all the friends who came around to help get the pop-up gallery ready, to so many people just being there to show support, this reminded me instantly of what I loved about growing up in Greystones.

“Neighbours always looking out for neighbours. You don’t quite get that living in New York…”

Running until September 17th, Lisa McCleary’s I’ll Be In Touch has a limited number of signed prints on offer too. More on the artist here.

More on the exhibition here, more on the artist over here.