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Irish artist's Rochester paintings part of new exhibition

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Eamon O'Kane, Thomas E. Keys Residence, Rochester, 2017, acrylic on canvas.

A major career retrospective of work by Irish artist Eamon O'Kane , including new paintings of Rochester homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, will open Thursday at the Rochester Art Center .

The opening includes a reception and gallery talk by the artist.

O'Kane, who holds master of fine arts degrees from the University of Ulster in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and the New School University in New York, is currently a professor of visual art at the Bergen Academy of Art and Design in Norway.

His "Froebel Studio: Institute for Creativity" was installed in 2016 at the Rochester Art Center. The new exhibition, "Intimate Expansive," displays O'Kane's paintings, drawings, animations and installations with a focus on his interest in the work of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. O'Kane has created new paintings of three Rochester homes designed by Wright. Tours of the homes will be offered in April.

"Eamon came to Rochester in August 2016 to research Frank Lloyd Wright in the area, to begin producing work for a larger exhibition about his interests in the relationship between architecture and nature," said Sheila Dickinson, interim curator of art and public programs at the art center. "Intimate Expansive" is the result of that work.

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O'Kane will return to Rochester for the opening of the exhibition. He will give an artist talk from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, followed by the opening reception from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

O'Kane's interactive Froebel Studio, which consists of building blocks of architecture that were influential on Wright, will be re-installed and integrated into the overall exhibition, which runs through May 27.

O'Kane has had solo exhibitions in Berlin, Frankfurt, Dublin, Zurich, New York, Los Angeles, London and Copenhagen.

Events related to the O'Kane exhibition:

— Rochester Trolley tours of homes in the Rochester area designed by Wright, his students and architects of the Prairie Style. 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 20-21, Feb. 3-4, Feb. 24-25. Tickets: $25; available at rochestermntours.com

— Parent-artist monthly gatherings. Children and families are invited to play with O'Kane's interactive art installation, "Froebel's Studio: Institute of Creativity," while local creative artists talk about how their art practice was affected by becoming a parent. Sessions are from 10 a.m. to noon Feb. 10 (artist: Shah Noor Shafqat); March 10 (Heather Ritenour-Sampson); April 7 (Jane Wunrow); May 12 (Katya Roberts).

— "Picturing Utopia," a two-part workshop that will use O'Kane's drawings and paintings as a starting point for realizing individual landscape visions. The "Collage" session is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 1, and the "Composite Drawing" session is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 8. Fee is $10 per session, $18 for both.

— "How Many Maps Can You Make?" workshop, a challenge to map and re-map the art center's space, using O'Kane's works as inspiration. 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. April 26. $10.

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  • What: Artist talk and opening reception for "Eamon O'Kane: Intimate Experience"
  • When: Artist talk 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., reception 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday
  • Where: Rochester Art Center, 40 Civic Center Drive SE
  • Admission: Free

The exhibition continues through May 27. Admission is $5, or $10 for a family

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