{"id":432880,"date":"2026-05-05T04:51:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T04:51:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/432880\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T04:51:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T04:51:37","slug":"mullingar-artist-presents-portals-exhibition-of-paintings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/432880\/","title":{"rendered":"Mullingar artist presents \u2018Portals\u2019 exhibition of paintings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"figure-img img-fluid\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1777956696_316_imengine.public.prod.cmg.infomaker.io.jpeg\" alt=\"\" itemprop=\"image\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                  Across The River Styx by Neal Burns (full image below).<\/p>\n<p>\n    Published:<br \/>\n    Mon 4 May 2026, 11:05 AM\n  <\/p>\n<p class=\"ew-body\">\u2018Portals\u2019 an exhibition of paintings by Mullingar-based artist Neal Burns, opens at The Atrium on Thursday of this week, May 7. The work presents a series of oil on canvas paintings that invite viewers into richly imagined worlds where mythology, literature, and speculative futures converge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ew-body\">Drawing on a wide range of references, Burns\u2019s paintings bear titles such as Zarathustra, The River Styx, and Under the Spreading Chestnut Tree, the latter referencing George Orwell\u2019s 1984.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ew-body\">The works function as symbolic thresholds, or \u2018portals\u2019, into layered narratives that explore the fragility of contemporary existence.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ew-body\">At once atmospheric and introspective, the exhibition reflects on urgent themes including the climate crisis, apocalyptic imaginaries, and the enduring influence of science fiction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ew-body\">Burns\u2019s work navigates the tension between beauty and unease, presenting landscapes that feel both otherworldly and eerily familiar.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ew-body\">Through luminous colour, textured surfaces, and dreamlike compositions, Portals offers a meditation on transformation, uncertainty, and the shifting boundaries between past, present, and possible futures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ew-body\">The exhibition opens on May 7 at 5.30pm at The Atrium, \u00c1ras an Chontae, Mullingar.<\/p>\n<p>      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"figure-img img-fluid\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1777956697_328_imengine.public.prod.cmg.infomaker.io.jpeg\" alt=\"\" itemprop=\"image\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                  Artist Neal Burns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ew-body\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/nealburnsart\/\" id=\"link-1fea960f5c39332dbf8fba3ae9df2728\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">nealburnsart@instagram<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"ew-body\"><a href=\"https:\/\/westmeathculture.ie\/\" id=\"link-dab597a8c93a3a21195d219ba852ab47\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">westmeathculture.ie<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"ew-body\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/westmeath.arts\" id=\"link-24275b7d647c339520a988437103e45c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">facebook.com\/westmeath.arts<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"ew-body\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/artswestmeath\/\" id=\"link-12b2e14c6cae1f347a3ca42c4ef54505\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Instagram: @ArtsWestmeath<\/a><\/p>\n<p>      <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"figure-img img-fluid\"  src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1777956697_984_imengine.public.prod.cmg.infomaker.io.jpeg\" alt=\"\" itemprop=\"image\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                  Across The River Styx by Neal Burns.<\/p>\n<p>\n    Published:<br \/>\n    Mon 4 May 2026, 11:05 AM\n  <\/p>\n<p>    <script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Across The River Styx by Neal Burns (full image below). Published: Mon 4 May 2026, 11:05 AM \u2018Portals\u2019&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":432881,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,308,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-432880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/432881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}