CRESTONE — “The Jungle Sale” by local artist Terry Corcoran will occupy the Shumei gallery during the month of March.  The opening and symposium, on Sunday, March 18th starting at 3 p.m., is more appropriately called a “happening.” A “happening” in that the audience or spectators will be an essential part of the event and will be encouraged to interact with the artworks in a very hands-on way.  

Is the art world a jungle? What about the world of “art”? What is the value of art?  How do artists find an appropriate price to ask for their works? Should art be personal and biographical, or devoid of personal reference? Is half-a-billion dollars too much to spend for a painting? These are some of the questions that Terry Corcoran’s exhibition will raise, with no answers provided, except for those that spectators may come to on their own.

Terry hopes that this occasion will be a fun and lively community event—and it is appropriate that Terry’s symposium takes place on the day after St. Patrick’s Day, because he is a native-born Irishman. Let the celebrations continue! He says, “It is important to me that people are able to own a piece of my art if they like it. That is one of the main factors in how I price my work, and especially so in this exhibition.”

Dublin-born Terry Corcoran attended the Irish National College of Art in the 60s.  While a student he won awards in drawing at the Royal Dublin Society student show, and a Browne Thomas prize for stained glass. After college he worked for the well-known Murphy Devitt stained glass studio, designing windows for churches and private homes. In 1969 he traveled to the U.S. and settled in California. There he continued in stained glasswork as well as painting. He also began sculpting in wood, creating a series of sculptures called River Sticks. Made from flat boards, the artist describes them as “a waterfall from heaven to earth.”

Terry returned to live in Ireland in 1991, making his home in Co. Wicklow. During the 1990s he continued sculpting in wood, creating a series of sculptures he refers to as “the Heart of the Matter.” He also developed a pigment made from the ash of turf, a traditional source of fuel in Ireland that is still in use today. He incorporated this pigment into a large series of paintings based on the bog lands, and the ancient preserved human remains that have been unearthed from them. With these paintings Terry mounted a very successful exhibition—“Excavations and Exchanges”—with his artist brother, Austin Corcoran (austincorcoran.com), at Webster University, St. Louis, in 1994, which was supported by the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. In 2007 Terry moved back to the US. 

The exhibition will be available for viewing for the month of March. Meet with Terry and learn more about his work on Sunday March 18th from 3-5 p.m. This event is free to the public, please visit www.shumeicrestone.org or call 256-5284 for more information. The Shumei gallery is open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Caption: “The Jungle Sale” by Dublin born local artist Terry Corcoran will occupy the Shumei gallery in Crestone during the month of March. /Courtesy photo