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Elke Thönnes
, German, b.1960
Title
GlendaloughDate2019
MediumAquatint and etching on paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 71 × 58 cm
Plate: 42.5 × 56 cm
Credit LinePresented, with the support of Mr Peter Woods, 2025
Object numberNGI.2025.24
DescriptionA native of Cologne, Germany, Elke Thönnes studied at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Kassel before moving to Ireland in1988, where she studied Fine Art Painting at the National College of Art and Design. Her practice includes painting and sculpture, but she is primarily a printmaker, based at Graphic Studio Dublin (GSD). This subtle print captures the beauty and serenity of a well-known Irish scenic and historical location. Using a combination of acquaint and etching the artist layers harmonious colour in this print to create a perfect sense of balance. Glendalough, an extensive monastic complex, is located in a glacial valley consisting of two lakes (the Upper and Lower Lakes), which explains the Irish place name Gleann dá Locha ‘the valley of the two lakes’. Thönnes’s pared back image focuses on the simplicity and calm of the natural aspects of this archaeologically and architecturally rich landscape. It provides an interesting counterpoint to the many detailed topographical views of Glendalough by British and Irish artists of the eighteenth and nineteenth century in the collection.
The print was exhibited in the 2024 Graphic Studio Dublin exhibition Between Islands. The exhibition, in partnership with Glasgow Print Studio, featured new and recent work by six artists recognised for their interest in seascapes. Thönnes notes: “My work is largely influenced by my emigration to Ireland … When I moved to Ireland my work changed dramatically, from being almost exclusively abstract to becoming at least in part quite figurative, exploring Irish landscape and architecture. Having grown up in a country that is almost entirely landlocked, the sea is an immense draw for me and often features in my work. I use various approaches and techniques for these prints including monoprinting, carborundum, etching, and photo intaglio.” Glendalough is one of a number of prints in which the artist focuses on views of the Irish landscape and its coastline. Other Irish locations by Thönnes that are similarly rendered include prints of Achill, Dunmanus Bay, Durras, and the Skelligs.
ProvenanceGraphic Studio Dublin; Purchased, with the support of Mr Peter Woods, 2025Exhibition HistoryBetween Two Islands, Graphic Studio Dublin, Dublin, 26 October 2024 - 30 November 2024