Adrienne Symes

Adrienne was born in Dublin in 1946 and studied at National College of Art (NCAD) and Trinity College. She was head of Art, The King’s Hospital, Dublin and worked for Sybil Connolly on china and fabric designs for Bloomingdales, New York. She has been a member of Graphic Studio since 1990. She has exhibited in RHA & Oireachteas
As a visual artist, I work in a variety of media: pencil, ink, watercolour, oil and etching. Drawing from observation is the foundation of all my work; I am seldom separated from a notebook, pen and pencils recording pattern and colour. I use architectural and botanical subjects and I have always been fascinated by water, particularly the reflections of field and sky, and the distortions produced by light and wind.
Aidan Dunne, Irish Times, has written: ‘ There is always a tremendous quality of engagement in her work, a lively excitement that has to do with problems encountered in codifying the bewildering complexity of the physical world into a stringently organised pictorial language, limited in terms of palette and tone.’
Collections include OPW, Hunt Museum, Carlow IT, Frank Buckley (INTO), Plan International (London)
Exhibitions include – Solo: William Frank Gallery, Olivier Cornet Gallery, Alliance Francaise, Dublin, Varengeville-sur-Mer, Normandy, 411 Shanghai. Other: Graphic Studio Gallery, Jorgensen Fine Art, Kennedy Gallery, Joyce Centre, United Arts Club, VUE, Art of the State & Elements (OPW), Dublin; Leinster Print Studio, Riverbank Centre, Kilcock Gallery, Kildare, Shankill Castle, Kilkenny.