Drawing on her experience: Top Kilkenny artist stars in new TV series
A renowned county Kilkenny artist is among those featured in a new series that looks at the work that goes into preparing and developing art.
Helen Comerford was born in Thomastown and has been a professional artist for more than 40 years. She is one of 12 artist to feature in a series of short stories for TG4 called Samhlú, 12 short films commissioned by the Department of Tourism, Culture, and the Arts and the Creative Ireland Programme.
The films are a visual and audio experience depicting the artistic process of some of Ireland’s hidden creatives. These are our unique and vibrant artists, makers and doers, based in our towns, our villages throughout Ireland.
Through these films, the viewer will gain a new and detailed perspective on how the artist prepares and develops their work in an intimate stylised form.
Helen was educated in NCAD Dublin, Belfast College of Art and Design and Artibus in Utrecht, Holland. She was a member of the board of the AAI, Wexford Arts Centre and Garter Lane Arts Centre, and has lectured at DLSAD and UCD.
Helen is an innovator in special needs education and was one of the initiators of KCAT Arts Centre. She has been with Taylor Galleries since 1979 and held her first solo exhibition there in 1980. Recent and forthcoming shows include Leonidio, Greece (2016), Wiesbaden, Germany (2018) and the old Butler Gallery, Kilkenny (2021). In 2019 she was the Bealtaine artist in residence at the West Cork Arts Centre.
Helen’s programme – Samhlú – Croí Cruthaitheach is available to watch now on the TG4 Player https://www.tg4.ie/Samhlú.
