Rita Duffy takes a fresh look at the Hunt Museum Collection and uncovers resonances both witty and profound between history and today, writes Niamh NicGhabhann
In 1861, William Wilde pub. lished the first catalogue of the Royal Irish Academy’s museum collection in a rush. Although it had been started by George Petrie, one of the most brilliant antiquarians of the day, Wilde grew increasingly frustrated by Petrie’s slow progress and, and under the pressure of a deadline, decided on a quick fix. He grouped the heaps of carved, curious, half-precious, half-fearful objects that filled the Academy’s rooms into a simple system: stone with stone, gold with gold, bronze with bronze, regardless of age or context. A century later, it looks like precision, taxonomies born of philosophical revolution and scientific inquiry, but the reality?
To the Irish in America, the irony of using funds from a Fenian club to buy a set of Malton views depicting Georgian Dublin was not apparent, writes Christian Dupont
Linda Brunker’s female avatars affirm nature and spirit. Mark Ewart talks to the Irish sculptor as she departs California for France
The magic realism of Sweeney’s transformation from man to bird continues Gabhann Dunne’s association with the natural world, writes Susan Campbell