‘Scratching the Surface’ is a joint exhibition by Isabelle Gaborit and Janet Mercer. Both artists live and work in the west of Ireland, are inspired by the landscape, its light, forms, and rugged textures, yet each produces their own personal response to this stimulus. They are both interested in the physicality of the landscape and the physical processes of making art and of their chosen media.
A diverse range of work is on show: encaustic paintings, drawings in charcoal, graphite and mixed media, monoprints and sculptures, all of which convey the physicality of the rugged, stony landscape and how its forms and textures are revealed by the light. The work of both artists evokes for the viewer the experience and feeling of being in the landscape, more than creating a pictorial representation or scenic view. The work is a reflection on permanence and change and the physical and emotional effects of being in the landscape.
Gaborit’s encaustic painting techniques echo the geological processes that have shaped the landscape over time, with the building up of layers of material, subsequently eroded by weather and natural forces. Her creative process involves the application of semi-transparent layers of pigmented beeswax manipulated by blowtorch, striving to create depth and translucency. In the physical process of painting layers of pigmented beeswax are built up, scraped back while cooled, scored, and shaped, creating highly tactile surfaces. Remnants of what has come before are left as a new landscape unfolds. There is no resolution or end point, just process.
Mercer is inspired by the robust solidity of the rocky Connemara landscape, and how the ever-changing light highlights solid forms, contours, and textures, while at other times, light and mist dissolves the forms, rendering them ephemeral. Whatever the conditions, the mountains are a permanent presence, both witness, and yet indifferent, to human life and activity around them.
In both drawing and sculpture she combines building up and removal of layers of material to refine and reveal the forms within the piece. She layers charcoal or graphite, building and erasing material, to define the final forms of the piece. Mixed media drawings explore the physicality of the landscape through collage and relief, and she explores the abstract, sculptural forms of the landscape through carving plaster and stone.
Isabelle Gaborit
Bio
Isabelle Gaborit is a professional visual artist originally from La Rochelle, France, now based on the west coast of Ireland. She holds a BA (Hons) in Fine Art and began her creative journey studying sculpture, drawing, and painting at l’École des Beaux-Arts in Poitiers, France. Since graduating in 2006, her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, with showcases in the USA, Northern Ireland, China, Germany, and France.
With over 20 years of experience facilitating art workshops, Isabelle regularly leads workshops and art retreats both nationally and internationally. Beyond teaching, she is deeply committed to mentoring emerging artists. Through the IEA Mentor Program, of which she is a board member and the Mastrius platform, she provides guidance and coaching to help artists develop their professional practice, refine their creative voice, and establish a strong artistic presence. Additionally, as one of R&F’s Core Artist Instructors, she serves as an ambassador, sharing her expertise with students worldwide.
Statement
As a contemporary artist, Isabelle’s primary medium is encaustic—an ancient painting technique that resonates with the passage of time. Her artistic practice is deeply rooted in mark-making and gesture, drawing inspiration from her daily sketching routine.
Through this process, she captures the essence of her surroundings, translating visual memories—forms, colours, textures, and patterns—into layered, evocative compositions. Her work mirrors the dynamic forces of nature, emulating geological processes of construction, erosion, and renewal.
Each painting evolves through a tactile, physical process, as she layers pigmented beeswax, scrapes and carves cooled surfaces, and sculpts textures that reflect the landscapes shaped by time. The resulting pieces invite viewers to engage with their intricate surfaces, revealing traces of history, memory, and place
Contacts
(00353) 87 2793819
isabellegaborit@gmail.com
Janet Mercer
Bio
Janet Mercer was born in Co. Tyrone and studied Fine Art in Belfast and Loughborough, and 20C art and design history in Winchester. She taught art and art history in the post-16 art education sector in England for 20 years and worked as an education inspector for 12 years.
Since returning to live in Ireland in 2017, she has exhibited regularly in various venues across Ireland, and completed artist’s residencies at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Co. Monaghan, and Cill Rialaig, Co. Kerry.
Statement
My work explores the highly sculptural forms of the mountains and how field boundaries and walls delineate the form and contours of the land. I like to work with those structural elements, while also trying to convey something of my own feelings when out in the landscape: a sense of the sublime - awe and exhilaration - but also an awareness of generations of sadness and loss. The impact of successive famine and emigration is still a constant presence here.
My process involves walking and recording through drawing, photography and collecting objects and materials and working from these in the studio. The landscape is a palimpsest, overwritten with multiple layers of natural and human history. I explore different layers through drawing and erasing layers of charcoal, graphite and other media, building up and stripping away – gradually revealing and distilling the essence of what I have seen. I often start by creating a relatively random textured or patterned layer and draw into what these suggest to me – I like the fluidity of that approach and how a piece evolves over time.
I work with clay, plaster and stone, seeking ways to translate the landscape’s sculptural qualities and expansive scale into a 3D object within the finite size and shape of a block of carved stone or plaster. Carving feels like an archaeological process, cutting into and removing material to define and reveal the final forms.
Working with clay is more like a geological process – building up material, as the land itself has formed over time and successive layering, and then carving into this to reveal new forms and structures – as glaciers once scoured and shaped the landscape.
Contacts
(00353) 87 709 7980
Instagram @janetmercersculptor
Supported by the Arts Council of Ireland