Colourful artist pays tribute to adopted city

Artist Margaret Nolan pays homage to a Galway she has gotten to know since she moved here from her native Dublin 25 years ago in her new solo exhibition, A Galway Retrospective.

The exhibition, which was opened by Little John Nee in City Hall last week as part of the Cúirt International Festival of Literature, is a mix of old and new work.
The paintings are Margaret’s take on Galway life, from the boats moored at the Docks or the Claddagh to the narrow streets of the Latin Quarter with its characters and entertainers.
She usually uses acrylics on board to paint scenes in bold colours but more interestingly, she purposefully misplaces some of the city’s iconic buildings in her work.
 “I have always been interested in the urban landscape of the city and yes, I have purposefully misplaced some of the buildings. I suppose it is quirky but it’s fun and sometimes people, local people, don’t even notice what’s ‘wrong’ with the image,” she says.
She gets a kick out of painting Galway City rooftops and turning their locations upside down.
“It is the way it is, but it isn’t,” she smiles.