'Once the Stain was Flawless' by Samantha Clarke
Venue: The Stone Gallery, Pearse Street
Date: 6th June - 5th July

OPENING HOURS

10.00 - 17.30 (Mon to Fri)
10.00 - 19.00 (Thurs)
11.00 - 17.30 (Sat)
Closed Sunday

Whether you want to delve into the darker side of childhood, or enjoy an imaginative twist on accidental marks, The Stone Gallery has two fantastic exhibitions sure the inspire awe, provoke thought and generally make for a great afternoon's viewing.  Philip Lee's "Childhood Lost" is an exhibition of paintings challenging the notion that childhood is a happy, carefree time. After all, it's also when we experience our first moments of anxiety or fear. Our imaginations are at their most fertile and anything seems possible, no matter how horrific or nightmarish it might be. And of course, it's in childhood that we start to discover what it means to be "normal" (and frequently feel we're probably not).

Samantha Clarke's 'Once the Stain was Flawless', meanwhile, embraces the brighter side of the imagination. Found images, true life, memory and even her own photography form the basis for this stunning display of drawings stunning drawings - as so the incidentally beautiful marks that are frequently already present on the aged paper. These existing stains and imperfections add their own history to her drawings - and by incorporating them into the pictures she can add her own narratives to the story that is already there.

Don't miss these two fantastic exhibitions from two very different artists this June at the Stone Gallery.