Curator of the State art collection, Jacquie Moore, highlights the first OPW exhibition of sculpture at Dublin Castle and discusses the historical background to the State collection
Sculpture First is the twelfth Art of the State exhibition organised by the Office of Public Works (OPW). Since 1991, the OPW has presented works from the State art collection to a wider audience through this touring exhibition. The artworks are gathered from public buildings throughout Ireland. Over the years, paintings, drawings and original prints have been exhibited throughout Ireland and abroad. This year, for the first time, sculpture is being exhibited
The Lemon Street Gallery, in collaboration with RTÉ, are currently hosting an exhibition marking the fiftieth anniversary of the photography of Dublin by Nevill Johnson. For the first time a chronological account of Nevill Johnson’s artistic career is illustrated; mainly through photography, but also incorporating his painting and writing. The paintings range from the early 1940s to the ‘London’ paintings. The occasion also marks the launch of the Nevill Johnson Annual Award to assist emerging artists in the North and the South of Ireland, thereby acknowledging the influence of Belfast and Dublin on Nevill Johnson’s artistic development. At the height of his career as a painter Nevill Johnson turned to photography; Eoin O’Brien and Dickon Hall explain why