Castalia: An Unfolding Story

The Tea Houses, Kilkenny
Curatorial Residency March-June, 2026

Brianna Hurley’s vivid paintings conjure an imagined planet of hot red earth, lush and towering forests. Working with acrylic paint, pencil and acrylic marker, the artist constructs landscapes of striking chromatic intensity, alive with oases of colour and calm. Look closely and you’ll find the artist herself painted into the landscape, a small figure absorbed into an environment far larger than herself.

But Castalia is not simply a paradise. It is a world under threat. The indigenous peoples of this imagined land, and the landscape they are part of, face the pressures of human encroachment, a tension that speaks directly to questions we encounter in our own world. She invites us to think about how we live in relationship with the land around us and those who inhabit it. The artist’s work opens up space to ask: what do we owe to one another, to those unfamiliar to us, and to the natural world?

The exhibition title is inspired by Hurley’s artist book, The Story of Castalia, published in 2022 and launched at KCAT Art Centre. Diving deeper into the world of Castalia, it tells the story of the imagined planet colonised by humans, and of the indigenous people who fight for their freedom.

Brianna Hurley has been a studio artist at KCAT since 2018. She works with acrylic paint, pencil and acrylic marker, and has exhibited widely in Ireland and internationally.

Curated by Shannon Carroll on curatorial residency, as part of the Kilkenny County Council Arts Office Programme.

Exhibition photography below by Amelia Caulfield.