The Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art is preparing a major exhibition in the spring of 2004 of the art of Brian O’Doherty/Patrick Ireland. Brenda Moore-McCann portrays aspects of one of the pioneering figures in conceptual art since the mid-1960s in both Dublin and New York
Brian O’Doherty is first and foremost, an artist. This may come as a surprise to those who already know him as the internationally renowned art critic. Yet, art has been, and continues to be, the central unifying factor of a life which straddles parallel, yet distinct, roles, of artist, critic, administrator, teacher, and novelist. Added to these is the work of another persona since the early 1970s, Patrick Ireland, who is also an artist.¹ In this age of professionalism and rigid specialization, the work of both personae has escaped adequate critical appraisal until recently.² This relative neglect is perhaps not too surprising given that the ‘language’ of art has changed remarkably since the late 1960s, and is only recently receiving the attention of art historians and critics. This article outlines some aspects of the artistic achievement of O’Doherty/Ireland over the past forty years
