Co. Down artist Geralyn Mulqueen wins third annual festival artist prize.
A self-taught County Down artist who took up the practice as a means of therapeutic self-reflection, has been named the Featured Artist for Stendhal Festival 2019.
Geralyn Mulqueen has been producing beautiful works of art on oils, acrylics, pastels, watercolours and ceramics since 2009 and her work was unanimously selected as the winning entry by all the judges at Stendhal Festival.
Along with a £500 prize, Geralyn’s artwork will now be featured across all Stendhal Festival branding and marketing and she will have a featured space in the Festival’s Art gallery at the event in August.
Creative Director Colm O’Donnell said: “The standard of all the entries this year was again of great quality and we thank everyone who took the time to enter the competition.”
Stendhal Festival’s Featured Artist 2019.
Geralyn Mulqueen
“There can be only one winner though and Geralyn’s work stood out from the start. It is vibrant and engaging and then when we then read about her background and the what’s and whys regarding her work, it all combined to form a picture of an artist, truly confident, bold and comfortable in the excellent work she is producing.”
Geralyn’s work has seen her display around the world in esteemed artistic hubs such as Paris, Berlin, Dublin and now her work will reach a much more rural, but no less cultured audience in Limavady this summer.
Colour and light are inextricably woven together in her work to reflect innermost appreciation of her life journey to date as a woman, mother and artist. In reclaiming her creative voice through art and poetry she invites the viewer to embrace life.
“There can be only one winner though and Geralyn’s work stood out from the start. It is vibrant and engaging.”
Upon hearing that she had won the 2019 Stendhal feature Artist Prize, Geralyn said:
“I am both thrilled and honoured to be selected as this year’s winner. As a personal milestone and given the ethos of Stendhal, I consider this to be one of the most important things I will have done artistically and personally as an artist a mother and a woman.”
Describing her work she added: “My overall aims as an artist are to use colour in an authentic translation which reaches the viewer and offers a deep connection and resonance to the marks made. My work if you like is a catalyst for change.
“I use colour spontaneously in the emotional translation and capture the essence of reflection and emergence uniquely felt. My work is vital honest always allowing for growth and movement. Abstraction is a signature mark.
“Inspiration comes from different sources: I have always been moved by Miro, Picasso and Rothko. My own creative flow has no clock, an experience, a memory, a smell can evoke the need to paint and that is how I work. I love sharing beauty and the freedom of creativity.”
Stendhal Featured Artist Geralyn Mulqueen
Geralyn has a busy schedule before appearing at Stendhal this summer with exhibitions in the MAC Belfast on March 29, Dublin and Cork in April 2019, Arnold’s Hotel, Dunfanaghy, on April 12-14 and more to be announced.
To enjoy Geralyn’s work up close and in living colour you can visit her featured artist platform at Stendhal Festival on August 15, 16 and 17.
Visit www.geralynmulqueen.com for more details.