PAINTING AND MUSIC IN CONVERSATION

Live performances from Clare Lynch and Fintan O’Hare, plus Artist In Conversation with Bernard Irwin and Clare Lynch, with Jesse Leroy Smith

Join us for a unique fusion of painting and music, as two powerful collaborations bring together the work of painter Bernard Irwin and composers Clare Lynch and Fintan O’Hare.

These one-off performances will take place in The Studio, where two of Bernard’s large-scale paintings will be hanging, transforming the space and creating an immersive dialogue between sound and image.

THE TREES ARE SINGING / TREELINES

Composer Fintan O’Hare presents Treelines, a saxophone quartet written in response to Bernard Irwin’s painting The Trees are Singing, which will be displayed in the space during the performance. Originally initiated by composer Clare Lynch for the Rosewood Festival of Art and Music in 2021, this collaboration continues to evolve and deepen.

A SLOW BREATH

A Slow Breath is a meditative piece for saxophone quartet and violin by Clare Lynch, marking her return to composition. The work is an ongoing response to Bernard’s painting of the same name, which will also be exhibited during the performance.

Together, the two large, expressive paintings will provide a striking visual counterpoint to the live music, shifting the atmosphere of the space and inviting a deeper sensory experience.

See Read More below for more on the creative and performing artists.

MEET THE ARTISTS

Following the performances, Bernard Irwin and Clare Lynch will be in conversation with artist Jesse Leroy Smith, offering insights into their creative processes and the dialogue between visual art and sound. A chance to hear directly from the artists about the power of cross-disciplinary collaboration.

FREE, all welcome.

Bernard Irwin exhibited in The Picture Room

BERNARD IRWIN

Bernard Irwin is a British artist working across painting, sculpture, and ceramics. Born in Malaya in 1953, he spent his early years in England and Germany, later studying in the Netherlands before returning to the UK in 1981. After many years based in Bristol, he relocated to Cornwall in 1996, where he now paints full-time.

Irwin’s work draws on the legacy of post-war abstraction, particularly the bold, colour-driven aesthetics of 1960s American painting. His canvases and sculptural compositions are unapologetically decorative, celebrating colour as a primary force; what Kenneth Noland once called “the origin of painting.”

Rich in hue and formally precise, Irwin’s work is playful, elegant, and quietly radical. It eschews narrative in favour of sensation, using shape and colour to create immersive visual experiences. His visual language shares affinities with painters such as Morris Louis and Noland, placing pleasure, structure, and clarity at its core.

Bernard Irwin is represented by Circle Contemporary Gallery.

About the Performing Artists

CLARE LYNCH

Musician, composer, educator, and project coordinator Clare Lynch has created a new composition, The Pulse of White, in response to Bernard Irwin’s painting A Slow Breath. This new work, currently a work in progress, reflects Clare’s growing interest in developing her own compositional voice, an aspect of her practice long-rooted in her role as an educator.

Formerly a member of the saxophone quartet Café Sax, Clare has recently stepped back from performance to mentor the ensemble in their current formation.

Clare is deeply involved in music education and creative programming in West Cornwall. Her recent projects include:

Zennor Music Series, offering a professional platform for emerging young musicians
Rosewood Festival, a three-day celebration of music and visual art
Dancing the Web of Nature, a performance of words and music for Iasaxa’s Free Music for Schools initiative
Cape Cornwall Saxophone Courses, a residential programme attracting participants from across the UK

Clare lives near Land’s End, where she continues to compose and tutor privately.

FINTAN O’HARE

Fintan O’Hare is an English composer whose work is characterised by small gestures, repetition, and the subtle evolution of sound. His compositions often emerge from limited sets of tones or materials, exploring how minute variations can build emotional and structural resonance.

He studied composition at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, followed by a Master’s degree at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen.

Fintan’s work has been performed internationally by ensembles including the Tallis Scholars, the Danish Radio Choir, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart, and the Avanti Ensemble. He frequently incorporates unconventional materials, from electric motors to everyday objects, into his works.

His music has featured at events such as the UNM Festival in Finland. He was a finalist in the Prix Annelie de Man Black Pencil Competition, and winner of the NCEM Young Composers Award, which included a BBC Radio 3 recording of his piece Come Passing Rain, conducted by the composer himself.

CAFÉ SAX

Café Sax is a West Penwith-based saxophone quartet with a passion for ensemble performance and adventurous repertoire. Recently reformed with a new line-up, the group brings together musicians from varied professional backgrounds:

Stephanie Pace – soprano saxophone, and a ceramicist
Sue White – alto saxophone, and a mathematician
Jackie Gumb – tenor saxophone, and a retired doctor
Carol Lanyon – baritone saxophone, and self-described “ageing juvenile”

The quartet is known for its stylistically diverse programmes and commitment to exploring the challenges and pleasures of new music.

For this workshop performance of The Pulse of White, they are joined by violinist and designer/maker Alyssa Lynch, who brings her distinctive voice to the ensemble. Alyssa is returning to performing after a break to raise her young family. As a session violinist, she has worked across recording studios and live performances, including the critically acclaimed national tour of Rat.