Ray Corcoran | Ordinary People and Extraordinary People

Ordinary People and Extraordinary People

Monday 20^th July  – Sunday 2^nd August

Ray Corcoran has been involved in the arts for over four decades. A native of Kilkenny, Corcoran has spent the past twenty years living and working in Bray. His work seeks to capture a wide variety of subject matter from portraits of well-known and lesser-known figures to scenes of both rural and urban landscapes. A self-thought artist Corcoran has honed his skills through an in-depth study of art history and an examination of the different styles that have dominated at different periods from the early renaissance through to the post-impressionists.

In this exhibition, Corcoran has attempted to capture local people that are known to him as well as people who will be known to the wider public through their appearances in the media. Each portrait captures somebody that plays or has played a significant role in Irish life and it is left to the viewer to determine the nature and impact of that contribution. This exhibition will challenge the observer, to examine and question the value that society places on the various types of work that people undertake and whether the ultimate impact of this work is a force for good or not.

Reflecting on the timing of this exhibition against the backdrop of the Coronavirus (COVID 19) and the lifting of a number of restrictions, Corcoran recalls the reservations he had about staging the show insisting that there are far more important considerations gripping the country at present. It was the encouragement of a number of close friends however that ultimately persuaded the artist to proceed with the exhibition believing that it may offer the viewer a small piece of respite and escapism during this very dark period. In an effort to minimise close contact at this time, Corcoran has chosen not to hold an opening reception and instead hopes that visitors to the gallery can come in and view the exhibition at the leisure.