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Diana Copperwhite (b.1969) Plato's Stage (2020) acrylic and watercolour on Fabriano paper signed and dated 'Diana Copperwhite 2020' lower right h:102  w:135.70 cm. Provenance: Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, Dublin (label verso) where purchased by the present owner A vivid and energetic essay in abstraction, Plato's Stage employs several different approaches to painting, ranging from Gerhard Richter-style combing and striation of paint, to dripping and flowing liquid pigment, as well as conventional brushwork. Copperwhite's range of subject matter is equally diverse. While sometimes the idea for a painting will be based on a media image, it is likely that, in the final work, any hint of the original image will have disappeared. The title of this painting alludes to Plato's well-known critique of how humans perceive reality, when he pointed out that such perception has as much 'truth' as when a prisoner in a cave might see shadows cast on a wall. Born in Patrickswell, County Limerick, Copperwhite is now based in Dublin. She graduated from NCAD in 1994, after studying at the Limerick School of Art. This was followed by her being awarded an MA at Winchester School of Art in 2000, in a course held in Barcelona. An accomplished painter, who draws on her own experiences as well as images from the media, Copperwhite creates semi-abstract, or abstract, works of art. They defy easy description, although elements of Expressionism abound. Music is a good analogy, and indeed many of her works are created using that same mixture of logic and intuition that a composer might employ in the creation of a work. In the 1999 EV+A exhibition held at Limerick City Gallery, Copperwhite pushed the boundaries of what constitute materials for painting even further, using clear resin and aluminium sheet in addition to oil on canvas, She has had over twelve solo shows, including several at the Kevin Kavanagh Gallery and in 2012 was awarded a residency fellowship at the Josef Albers Foundation in New Haven, Connecticut. Two years later, An Post used her painting Patterned Behaviour as a postage stamp, celebrating Irish contemporary art. Copperwhite is without doubt one of the most accomplished contemporary painters working in Ireland today.