Exhibition continues from the 24th of October to the 23rd of November 2025

Deirdre Brennan’s image of Sinead O’Connor’s funeral courage was selected for “The Canticle of the Creatures”
Trieste Photo Days Canticle of the Creatures” refers to an international photography project and exhibition inspired by St. Francis of Assisi’s hymn, with a photographic book published and exhibited at both the Palazzo Frumentario in Assisi and during the main Trieste Photo Days festival. The project was an open call for photographers to visually interpret the themes of the Canticle and culminated in a main exhibition in Trieste in late October 2025, following an earlier one in Assisi that ran from September 1–21, 2025.

Fergus Martin presents Formal and Wild – Landscapes, an exhibition exploring the tension between order and imagination. Known for his post-minimalist approach, Martin transforms simple forms – barrels, pipes, hay bales – into vessels of memory, myth, and projection.

Martin’s work resonates with Minimalist and Arte Povera traditions, yet distinguishes itself through openness to ambiguity and narrative. By placing the formal alongside the wild, Martin reminds us that ordinary objects can become portals into other worlds; strange, familiar and poetic.

This gallery exhibition centers on the textile installation by artist Varvara Keidan Shavrova, born in Soviet Russia and now living in England and Ireland. The installation features eight screen-printed felt blankets, each depicting images from her family photo album. This social and performative artwork invites interaction: visitors are encouraged to touch the blankets or drape them over their shoulders.

Juxtaposed with the artwork are historical objects from the Documentation Centre’s collection, including a tablecloth from East Prussia, a bedspread from Bohemia, and a small table cover from Brandenburg.

Textiles such as blankets, tablecloths, handkerchiefs, traditional costumes, coats, cloaks, scarves, and throws are poignant witnesses to hardship and suffering. They serve as relics of loss and deprivation, embodying the deeply human desire to connect with warmth, familiarity, and family. These objects offer a sense of solace against the painful experiences of displacement, loneliness, and uprootedness.

Varvara Keidan Shavrova’s work speaks to these shared experiences of millions of refugees, displaced persons, and emigrants, resonating with their enduring stories.

Exhibition Dates: February 2- November 16, 2025

OPENING RECEPTION WITH THE ARTIST, CURATOR MEET-AND-GREET, FILM SCREENINGS, AND MORE

“It’s terrible to think [about] where I get my inspiration, but all these things are fodder to me as an artist. I love trees. I love mountains. But I don’t want to go out and paint them. I don’t paint to make money. I paint what I want, and I’ve always been political.”

— Patricia Hurl

For the past 40+ years, the painter Patricia Hurl has portrayed the lives of Irish women and their experiences as housewives, child-bearers, caretakers, providers and warriors navigating a male-dominated world, evoking the broad spectrum of emotions felt by her subjects through expressionistic, layered brushstrokes and blending the figurative and abstract.

As part of Irish Gothic, a retrospective of Hurl’s extraordinary career presented by IAC in partnership with the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), we will be offering special opportunities this September for audiences to engage with the artist and her work, including an opening night reception; a talk with curator Johanne Mullan of IMMA; a members-only private tour of the exhibition; screenings of the documentary Dawn to Dusk, which follows the artist collective Na Cailleacha, of which Hurl is a founding member; and gallery hours for an Irish Gothic theatre installation. Admission is free.

Fergus Martin presents Formal and Wild – Landscapes, an exhibition exploring the tension between order and imagination. Known for his post-minimalist approach, Martin transforms simple forms – barrels, pipes, hay bales – into vessels of memory, myth, and projection.

Martin’s work resonates with Minimalist and Arte Povera traditions, yet distinguishes itself through openness to ambiguity and narrative. By placing the formal alongside the wild, Martin reminds us that ordinary objects can become portals into other worlds; strange, familiar and poetic.

Exhibition continues from the 24th of October to the 15th of November 2025

Deirdre Brennan’s series “100 Years of O’Connell Street” is on exhibition in Trieste as part of Trieste Photo Days Festival.
In honour of the 100th anniversary of the street’s name change from Sackville Street to O’Connell Street, Deirdre created a series of street portraits. Each person holds a gift for the street and gives their perspective on our main boulevard.