Artist hopes for a Gathering of the Irish community at new exhibition

IN THE midst of all the St Patrick’s Day celebrations, an award-winning artist has launched a brand new exhibition in Glasgow that sees her aiming to explore her Irish ancestry.

The exhibition, entitled ‘Gathering,’ is being showcased at the Six Foot Gallery located in the Pentagon Centre in the city’s Washington St from March 13-27 and is the most recent culmination of work by Maeve Dixon.

The artist—who grew up in Helensburgh, but is now based in Glasgow—was educated in the city’s prestigious School of Art and is famed for her printmaking and monoprinting for which she won an award at the AWARDS Society of Scottish Artists last year.

Her previous solo exhibitions include ‘Traces’ in London in 2024 and ‘Amusements’ in Glasgow in 2002. Her group exhibitions are varied too and have included work being displayed in Glasgow’s Gallery of Modern Art and the Society of Scottish Artists at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh.

Maeve’s current subject matter of interest is landscapes and buildings, places that she has rediscovered since having a child, where once she would have walked by, but now stops to look a little bit closer and a little bit further.

“I’m interested in the fragility of specific sites and the traces left behind by industry and people,” she said. “I'm currently focused on both Glasgow and Irish sites that have a personal and historical connection.”

After taking a break from art for a number of years she is now enjoying exploring her favourite medium again. She also teaches printmaking and works in arts and heritage, as well as making prints on her kitchen table.

She spoke passionately to The Irish Voice about her recent exhibit, which she encouraged people to come along too—even offering visitors a guided tour!

“Like a lot of people during lockdown, I started to delve deeper into my ancestry and explored my family’s journey from the west of Ireland to Glasgow in the 19th century,” Maeve said. “When creating my work, I visit locations in order to get a real feeling of a place. I have spent the last two summers in County Mayo, drawing, painting and photographing, which is my way of exploring an environment.

“I create textures from drawing, writing, blotting, placing the paper or fabric down and rubbing the back of the drawing surface with my hand so it is a hand-printed image. As I do this, I get an in-depth knowledge of my subject. The resulting monoprint is unique.”

She added: “The resulting monoprints on textiles and paper explore the journey of my ancestors. My lifelong interest is in storytelling and heritage, and it is something that I often explore in my work.

“We have no photos of our Irish ancestors from early 20th century, therefore we don’t know what they looked like and can only imagine from the photos that we have of their sons and daughters. What kind of desperation did they feel that they made the journey across the rough seas to form their new lives in Scotland?

“The Pentagon Centre is open Tuesdays to Fridays, running, co-incidentally on St Patrick's Day. The exhibition is on the ground floor and I’m more than happy to give you a guided tour!”