State of the art at Galway

RACEGOERS at Galway this week will have noticed a colourful mural painted on the back of the grandstand. It’s the work of local artist Shane O’Malley and it bears his distinctive style of colour, form and symbols.

Shane told RTÉ this week that the racecourse mural took him a week to complete, rain and wind proving a challenge at times. “It was commissioned by the Galway Races Committee with the support of the Arts Council, so a huge thank you to them,” he explained.

Describing his work, Shane added: “It’s a combination of my practice mixed with the theme of the races, horses moving, their freedom in motion. The first half of the mural shows horses coming out of geometric forms. At the back, it’s more fluid, more movement. I wanted to capture the beauty of the horse.

“That’s what’s special about racing.”