Large attendance highly impressed by late Leitrim artist's paintings exhibition

There was a large attendance for the opening on Friday night of Manorhamilton's marvellous “Benny Clancy Paintings 1996 – 2012: A Retrospective Exhibition” in the Leitrim Sculpture Centre.
Everyone in the large attendance was highly impressed with the 77 paintings on exhibit of the late artist Benny Clancy, McDermott Terrace who died on Wednesday, August 27, 2014. This great exhibition of Benny's paintings will continue at the Centre until Saturday, February 12. Opening times each week are from 11am to 4pm from Wednesday to Saturday inclusive.

Anyone who wishes can visit the exhibition free of charge over the next two and a half weeks during the opening hours.
From the work on display it certainly is evident that the late Benny Clancy was without doubt Manorhamilton's most outstanding painter ever. As Leitrim Sculpture Centre manager Sean O'Reilly explained in a highly knowledgeable comment about this remarkable local artist, “Clancy took great inspiration from modern masters notably Cezanne, whom he saw in Paris and London, and especially Paul Henry from Ireland.

“Like these artists Clancy was a loner and a rebel who sought inspiration from the everyday events that surrounded him and especially the people who populated his daily travels.
“The works on show include portraiture, landscapes, still-life, domestic scenes, animal studies as well as many views of Manorhamilton that were aided by the use of photographic images as well as works made directly from the subject.

“A central part of the exhibition includes a large number of portraits consisting of detailed studies of mostly local people that Clancy would have known well in the area. It was this close attachment, understanding and sympathy with the lives of ordinary working people that drove Clancy’s practice, both connecting him to his predecessor's work whilst underpinning his own unique and expressive style captured in this retrospective exhibition of his work.”

A special guest at the opening of the exhibition in the Sculpture Centre on Friday night was Benny's wife, Phil. She was especially pleased about the wonderful exhibition that the Leitrim Sculpture Centre had mounted of her husband's exceptional paintings.

Phil was equally pleased about the large numbers of local people who had come along for opening night of the exhibition to view Benny's amazing paintings. She said “indeed is a great night for myself and for my family – we are very very proud. We have been waiting for this exhibition for a couple of years and because of Covid, etc., it had to be cancelled. It is overwhelming and emotional.”
Phil agreed that the three portraits that Benny painted of her that were in the exhibition, were special. She also remarked that many of the paintings in the exhibition were for sale but “others that are from private collections and ones of our family are not for sale.”

Mrs. Clancy expressed her and her family's deep appreciation to a number of people who worked very hard over quite a period of time to get the exhibition organised. Phil said “thank you to the Sculpture Centre, manager Sean O'Reilly and all his team for the support they have given me.
“They understood how nervous I was and how apprehensive I was, and they just brought me along with them at all times. Thank you to the community as well for a great turnout and thank you to all of them for their outstanding loyalty at all times.

“The many great conversations we had here in the Sculpture Centre tonight were something else and very memorable as well” a very happy and popular person, Phil Clancy said in conclusion.