'Stars of the County Down’
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
TALENT, it seems, has no limits within the small fishing town of Kilkeel.
This week local artist Richard Sekules talks about his relationship with his vivacious grandmother Edith Sekules, a holocaust survivor, and the impact she had on the life of this week's 'Star of the County Down' in developing his career in the art world.
As this column goes to print, Richard's work is being hoisted upon the walls of the Olive Cafe in Sugar Island in Newry, for the locals to ponder over and enjoy. His work for this exhibition consists mainly of landscape paintings depicting the many Mourne beauty spots he has been working on since the summer of last year.
The 35 year old has been delighted by the phenomenal success of past exhibitions held around the area over the last few years. He described his last exhibition during the Fiddlers Green Festival, held in Rostrevor last summer, as a "complete sell out."
So what makes his work so popular among what should be his toughest critics, his own people? One reason could be his ability to capture the essence of a particular rock pool in the Mournes, or a forest in Rostrevor, making it look indigenous and easily spotted by the locals who know that the painting isn't just any rock pool, but a rock pool at The Bloody Bridge for example. Or it could be in his genes, were a certain perceptiveness lies.
At this point Richard describes the impression left on him by his late grandmother, Edith Sekules, an influence beyond what is perceived to be ordinary. Edith survived Stalin's extermination camps and lived not only to tell the tale but write a book on her experiences.
Richard recalls leaving Edinburgh at eleven years old, and coming over to live in Kilkeel. It was at this point that he began to establish a wonderful relationship with Edith. He began: "My granny was very cultured, she was of the Jewish faith, from Vienna in Austria, and grew up with a great love for the impressionists among other genres of Art. I suppose she instilled that love within me too."
Before she died, Edith penned her experience in a book called 'Surviving the Nazis Exile and Siberia' which sold well over a million copies world wide. In it she details her account from the time of her capture at the age of 22, along with her husband Kurt Sekules and her four month old daughter.
It is a heart wrenching story of being captured by the Nazis and her families internment as Soviet Prisoner's of War from 1941 until their release seven years later. Richard's own father Walter Sekules, was himself born within the confines of a cold and brutal Gulag.
However, after their release, Edith, Kurt and her young family made their way to Kilkeel and started a new life away from what they hoped would be free from religious conflict - some you win! Edith helped to create a knitwear company on the Newry Road, Kilkeel, and Richard's father Walter, still carries on the family business today.
Richard recalls several years ago, while living in the creative capital of Europe of Berlin, his grandmother came to visit him. Richard said: "Man she wore me out. We visited the Salzberg Arts Festival and together we visited several art galleries during the day and we would go to see the opera at night. We would even go skiing together and she was still in her early 80's at that point.
“I remember seeing an exhibition on Sir Francis Bacon with her and her saying 'I'd rather look around an abattoir'. She didn't have much time for that grim approach to art.
“However, like me she enjoyed the work of Hieronymus Bosch, a medieval Dutch impressionist and Gustav Klimt an Austrian Symbolist painter. And these painters still inspire me today.
Now 35 years old, Richard attended Kilkeel high school and remembers how enthusiastic and inspirational his art teacher, Rodney Howes, was in nurturing his talent.
In fact Richard is still great friends with him today, and has shared an art exhibition with him in the past. Richard is also great friends with a previous 'Star of the County Down' and fellow Kilkeel artist Ciaran Magill.
Richard says he has never stoped learning since leaving school in 1992 and believes his time spent as a creative designer in the German advertising industry helped instil a discipline he would have otherwise never encountered. Richard also worked as a model builder in the Bavarian car plant. He describes some of the techniques he learned as a model car builder are still useful to him.
He has recently set up an art gallery in the loft of his father's knitting factory on Newry Road, coming full circle in his family's poignant legacy, and hopes this will grow in time.
He describes himself as lucky to have had the amazing influences of his granny Edith and his family. He has also just began filming himself painting, and posting the series of development on You Tube, sharing his skills and techniques with other would be painters.
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