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Artist Talk with Michael Heffernan – Quinlan Visual Arts Center
July 14, 2023 @ 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
A synthesis of Poetic and Musical Language in response to Michael Heffernan’s abstract expressionism oil paintings.
“Michael Heffernan (b. 1954) was born in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Dublin’s National College of Art and Design (NAD) to study painting. After his foundation year, he entered the school of design and graduated in 1974. Upon graduation, he won a national design scholarship award to attend graduate school for an MA in Industrial Design at Birmingham Polytechnic, England. His career in business and entrepreneurial development spans over 40 years, he has held leadership positions in early stage companies in technology, healthcare and biomedical related industries.
Today, Michael works full-time from his studio at the Artisan Resource Center in Marietta, GA. His works include abstract and contemporary landscape paintings, working in oil and mixed media. Michael has exhibited in several juried group exhibits, and galleries in the Southeastern United States, Dublin, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. His work has been sold throughout the United States and sold to private collectors. https://www.michaelheffernanart.com/
Michael Heffernan returned to painting full-time in June 2018 after surviving a heart attack while cycling on the Silver Comet Trail in northwestern Georgia, the trauma of which led to his reevaluation of life’s priorities and subsequent full-time dedication to his art. In June 2020 he began writing poetry to recall childhood memories and life in Ireland as a coping mechanism in a time of uncertainty. The intensity of this focus eventually led to the works that are on display in Wayfinding.
Wayfinding, a solo painting, and poetry exhibition by Irish painter Michael Heffernan highlights a body of work created through the pandemic years that explores the relationship between mark making and poetic language. This exhibition pairs abstract and contemporary landscape paintings with accompanying poetry, written by Heffernan, for an immersive experience that connects and moves.
Individual poems are showcased next to their corresponding paintings and available as audio recordings read by Heffernan himself, creating a dynamic sensory experience.”
