Artist Maria Gasol's exhibition celebrates international Women's Day

An exhibition by visual artist will take place in Amharclann Ghaoth Dobhair on March 11. The exhibition will take place to celebrate International Women's Day, which takes place on March 8. 

Maria has called her collection 'Free the Corset’ and it consists of 25 collage pieces all loosely based around themes of female empowerment and challenging gender stereotypes. 

Originally from Barcelona, Maria Gasol lives in Gortahork and works from her studio in Derrybeg, Gaoth Dobhair. She first moved to Donegal in 2004. The author of illustrated book The Zoo of Love, portrait artist and recipient of various art grants, Maria was inspired to create the exhibition as she had built up a sizable collection of collages with common themes.

Amanda Brunker said Donegal is a magical place and she can’t wait to return

“Gola Island was amazing, that was lovely, I would have loved to have spent the night there”

She said:“I’ve always been interested in reflecting on gender roles and expectations, in recognizing them and questioning and challenging them. At the end of 2021, I received a bursary from the Arts Council that allowed me time and space to create works around those topics. 

“I worked on different mediums including painting and drawing, but collage is a faster medium for me and I felt I had enough pieces for an exhibition. I think it’s important to mark International Women’s Day because although as a society we are making great progress we still have a long way to go with equality”. 

Maria has a BA degree in Film and Media and worked in that field for years in Spain and Ireland. She also studied 2 years of Fine Arts. Later in life she got a postgraduate degree in Translation. 

She currently combines her artwork with her translation projects for Spanish companies and some Spanish teaching in primary schools. 

Maria paints portraits on commission but tries to find as much time as she can to develop her own art practice. She has shown work in Donegal, Belfast and Barcelona and has an upcoming exhibition in Derry. 

Maria's Free the Corset exhibition will be displayed at the Amharclann Ghaoth Dobhair from Friday, Marth 10. A soft opening will take place on Saturday, March 11 at 6.30pm with refreshments and music by singer songwriter Tara Gi. 

The works will be on display until the end of the month.

The exhibition is kindly supported by Ealáin na Gaeltachta.