Press Release
07 | 07 | 17
A Major Exhibition of Works by Breon O’Casey
in association with the Breon O’Casey Estate
9 September to 16 November
Aphrodite | Breon O’Casey
As part of the St Ives September Festival, New Craftsman Gallery presents a major exhibition
of work by celebrated artist Breon O’Casey.
As St Ives’ oldest art gallery, the New Craftsman’s relationship with O’Casey goes back over
40 years, from the early 1970s until his death in 2011 at the age of 82. This exhibition, held
in association with the artist’s estate, includes pieces from the wealth of artistic disciplines
O’Casey mastered in his lifetime, profiling his talent as a painter, printmaker, sculptor,
weaver and jewellery maker. Born in London in 1928 to Irish playwright Sean O’Casey and
actress Eileen O’Casey, Breon studied art at the Anglo-French Art Centre in St John's Wood.
Later inspired by a film about painter Alfred Wallis, O’Casey moved to St Ives in 1959, where
he found work initially as assistant to sculptor Denis Mitchell, and then Barbara Hepworth,
both of whom had a significant influence on the development of his own work. Working for
many years at his studio on Porthmeor Beach, and well known for his use of simple motifs
and geometric shapes, O’Casey went on to become an important figure in 20th Century
British art.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of September Festival talks and events. See
www.stivesseptemberfestival.co.uk for further information.
Also on show will by a new collection of work by respected Cornwall landscape painter Neil
Pinkett, on the gallery’s first floor.
For further information contact New Craftsman Gallery, 24 Fore St, St Ives, Cornwall, TR26 1HE.
01736 795652 / info@newcraftsmanstives.com / www.newcraftsmanstives.com
-END-
For press information and artist interviews contact Mercedes Smith at Fine Art Communications
director@fineartcommunications.co.uk / Tel 07825 270235 / www.fineartcommunications.co.uk
Print Ready 300dpi images for press use:
Editors Notes
New Craftsman St Ives
With an international reputation amongst art and craft collectors for its painting, sculpture and quality studio
ceramics, the New Craftsman is regarded as one of the most important spaces for contemporary artists in St
Ives. Founded in 1962 by Janet Leach, wife of Bernard Leach, it holds an unrivalled reputation as one of the
country’s leading art and craft venues. Now in its 55th year, the gallery’s annual programme of mixed and solo
exhibitions continues to support the work of Cornwall’s and the UK’s very best painters and craftspeople.
New Craftsman Gallery, 24 Fore Street, St. Ives, Cornwall TR26 1HE | Tel: +44 (0)1736 795652 |
info@newcraftsmanstives.com | www.newcraftsmanstives.com