Whispers of the Countryside | Paul Galligan at the Townhall Arts Centre Gallery

Event Details

Exhibition continues until Friday, 10th July 2026.

A solo exhibition by Paul Galligan, designed by Mark St. John Ellis.

Paul’s work consists of large-scale charcoal and soft pastel drawings that focus on the local Irish rural landscape.

He approaches these subjects as individual presences, creating oversized images that generate an almost three-dimensional effect. The drawings are highly physical and expressive. He walks the surrounding roads and farms, photographing in monochrome, from which the artworks are developed.

Farm animals, along with the ever-eroding trees and ditches – familiar yet often overlooked, intimate yet utilitarian – occupy a complex position within Irish culture. By isolating and enlarging these subjects, the artist seeks to grant them a sense of directness and authority, encouraging viewers to acknowledge their presence. Charcoal is central to the process. Its immediacy and fragility mirror the subjects’ vulnerability.

Rather than presenting an idealised rural image, the work acknowledges the quiet realities of coexistence between humans, animals, and land. In a time of environmental uncertainty and shifting relationships with agriculture, these drawings invite a pause – a moment to look closely at lives that are deeply interwoven with our own.

Open 10am to 4pm Tuesday to Friday.
12pm to 4pm Saturday or by appointment.