The Two Johns — 25 Years at Mill Cove
15 November 2025 – 28 February 2026

Overview

The Two Johns marks a defining milestone in Irish visual art, celebrating twenty-five years of creative partnership between painter John Brennan and curator, publisher, and ceramics expert John Goode.

Together — as collaborators, gallery directors, and husbands — they have built a legacy that has profoundly influenced the cultural landscape of Southwest Ireland and beyond. Their shared vision gave rise to Mill Cove Gallery, now one of Ireland’s longest established and most respected spaces for contemporary art and ceramics.

Over the past quarter century, they have opened five galleries — including two in Dublin — before establishing their permanent home in Kenmare in 2021, where Mill Cove Gallery continues to thrive as a centre for artistic excellence, community, and dialogue.

This landmark exhibition brings together:

• John Brennan’s paintings and prints, tracing his evolution from early explorations of the Beara Peninsula to his meditative, abstract landscapes.

• John Goode’s curatorial and publishing achievements, featuring key ceramic commissions, landmark publications, and archival materials documenting 25 years of Irish creative culture.

The exhibition reveals how these two intertwined practices — artist and curator, painter and publisher — have shaped a vibrant, inclusive vision of Irish contemporary art rooted in place, integrity, and shared purpose.

John Goode

John Goode co-founded Mill Cove Gallery and Sculpture Gardens on the Beara Peninsula in 2000 with his partner and artist John Brennan. In 2011, he launched Poets Meet Painters, an innovative competition uniting visual art and poetry that now attracts international submissions.

Goode has curated major ceramic, sculpture, and art exhibitions nationally and internationally, and is widely regarded as one of Ireland’s foremost authorities on Irish ceramics. His three acclaimed books on Irish ceramics stand as definitive references in the field, with a fourth edition forthcoming.

As Director of the Kenmare Arts Festival, Goode continues to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration. His professional life also reflects deep social engagement: he has worked extensively in LGBT health advocacy across Ireland and Europe, publishing several treatment directories and contributing to publications including Gay Community News and the Irish Medical News.

His vision and commitment have created platforms for artists, writers, and diverse voices — enriching Irish culture through excellence and inclusivity.

John Brennan

There is a quiet power that moves through the work of John Brennan — an artist whose dialogue with the Irish landscape has defined his life and practice. Over the past twenty-five years, he has forged a visual language that bridges the lyrical and the structural, the abstract and the elemental.

Born in Clonmel, County Tipperary, and a graduate of the Crawford College of Art, Cork, Brennan’s artistic journey has paralleled the growth of Mill Cove Gallery. His works are meditations on landscape and light — abstracted forms that evoke the enduring harmony between colour, texture, and terrain.

Rooted in the rugged beauty of the Beara Peninsula and Kenmare Bay, his paintings reduce landscape to its essence: a rhythm of shape and tone, a universal sense of place. His art aspires to timelessness — to a state where memory and material meet.

Brennan has exhibited widely, including at the Royal Hibernian Academy, Eigse Carlow, Hallward Gallery, and Mill Cove Gallery, and his works are represented in public and private collections across Ireland, the U.K., Europe, the U.S., and Australia.

Critics have consistently recognised his mastery:

“Brennan is to be applauded for formulating and continually redefining a judiciously spare formal language.” — Aidan Dunne, The Irish Times
“Technique and subject matter complement and fortify each other.” — Alannah Hopkin, The Irish Examiner
“Brennan’s work is undervalued.” — Sunday Business Post
“He abstracts the landscape and focuses on elemental shapes and dynamic harmonies of colour, texture and form.” — Eimear McKeith, Circa Magazine

Exhibition

1. The Foundation: Mill Cove Beginnings (2000–2005)

• Archival photographs, correspondence, and early gallery posters.

• Early paintings inspired by the Beara Peninsula and Kenmare Bay.

• First ceramic collaborations and commissions initiated by Goode.

2. Landscape and Light: John Brennan’s Artistic Vision

• Major paintings and prints spanning 25 years.

• Presentation of Brennan’s retrospective catalogue Looking Back 2000–2025 alongside new works.

• Texts exploring his pursuit of timelessness and abstraction.

3. Clay and Culture: John Goode’s Curatorial Legacy

• Selected ceramic works by leading Irish artists commissioned or published by Goode.

• Materials from his three landmark publications on Irish ceramics.

4. Intersection: Collaboration and Community

• Documentation of Poets Meet Painters, the Kenmare Arts Festival, and joint initiatives.

• Press coverage, photographs, and personal notes celebrating artistic collaboration.

• Interactive digital archive where visitors can explore Mill Cove’s history.

5. Continuum: Looking Forward

• Preview of Goode’s upcoming fourth edition on Irish ceramics.

• Short film installation on the continuing influence of Mill Cove Gallery.

• Visitor reflection wall and feedback journal.

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Kenmare, County Kerry — November 2025

Mill Cove Gallery proudly presents The Two Johns — 25 Years at Mill Cove, a landmark exhibition celebrating the artistic and cultural partnership of John Brennan and John Goode.

As husbands, collaborators, and co-directors, the pair have shaped the trajectory of Irish art in the southwest for over a quarter century. From Brennan’s evocative landscapes to Goode’s leadership in Irish ceramics, publishing, and arts advocacy, their partnership has nurtured generations of Irish artists and built a space where art, craft, and poetry converge.

Featuring a comprehensive retrospective of Brennan’s works, Goode’s publications and commissioned ceramics, and rare archival materials, The Two Johns charts a remarkable journey of creativity, collaboration, and community.

Venue: Mill Cove Gallery, 21 Main Street, Kenmare, County Kerry
Exhibition Dates: 15 November 2025 – 28 February 2026
Website: www.millcovegallery.com
Contact: millcovegallery@gmail.com | 064 6640780 / 087 2964675