Exhibited at the Triskel Arts Centre, Cork, 1993
Early paintings from the 1990s consisted of large oil paintings aimed at capturing a sense of indefinable presence, with epic implications, focused on depicting representations of space and light on a flat surface in layers of dark oil paint, using walls, windows and doorways to create the illusion of space within the picture plane. These works explored the illusion of space created on and beyond a flat surface through layers of luminous dark oil colours on canvas.
"A contemplative atmosphere pervades Sarah Iremonger's first wholly abstract exhibition (currently) on show at the Triskel Arts Centre in Cork. In the darkened main gallery, seven large canvases fill the space lit by dimmed spotlights. The quiet mood is amplified by the calm expanses of rich, resonant colour in the paintings.
This work explores space, light and colour in vertical panels of reds, blues and greens, exploiting the luminosity of oil paint and the texture of the canvas. Strength in this work derives from the interplay of presence and absence: with colour creating a meaningful presence and the lack of articulated subject a wonderful absence."
(Extract from Irish Times Review by Hilary O'Kelly, August 1993)
Also see videos Sarah Iremonger at The Triskel Arts Centre, Cork 1993
Exhibition of paintings at the Triskel Arts Centre, Cork, 1993 (Collection of The Crawford Art Gallery Cork)