Irish Arts Review, Winter 2002
Riann Coulter offers compelling reasons to see this mid-career retrospective
On the eve of a major exhibition of innovative new work to be shown at the Ulster Museum from 6 December, BRIAN MCAVERA finds painter Basil Blackshaw in magisterial mood
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
Brian Fallon, the long-time art critic of The Irish Times, has just been awarded the RHA Gold Medal for his outstanding contribution to the arts in Ireland. Here he puts his head on the block by naming his favourite few artists in Ireland from his own generation
Did Duchamp, Cage and Beuys constitute a liberating and inventive force in artistic practice or were they the creators of a disabling legacy? Brian McAvera investigates
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
Marie-Louise O’Donnell, Artistic Programmer of the Space at the Helix gives a personal perspective on the new building
Paul Spellman examines the career and work of Peter Collis RHA who is exhibiting a collection of recent paintings at the Solomon Gallery from 11 November
The restoration of Ballywalter Park, perhaps the most notable Victorian country mansion in the North of Ireland, is remarkable for several reasons. It was built in 1845 while the famine ravaged the country yet Belfast was booming. It has survived in the same family since then and remains a private residence. The magnificent restoration for the present owner Brian Mulholland, Lord Dunleath, has just been awarded one of the thirty EHS (Environment and Heritage Service) Conservation Awards given this year to mark the thirtieth anniversary of Listed Buildings in Northern Ireland. Dick Oram tells its story
The intense colouring and poetic lyricism of John Luke’s tempera paintings link him with a time when artist and craftsman were one. Martyn Anglesea assesses this unique painter
The ancient office of the Lord Mayor of Dublin is endowed with more of the paraphernalia of pomp and circumstance than any other public office in Ireland. The most remarkable ornament is the Gold Chain of office from 1698, which bears the bust of William III, Prince of Orange. And finally there is the Great Mace, which was crafted in Dublin in 1665 by the first Lord Mayor of the city who was by profession a goldsmith. Janet Redmond charts the social ascent of the goldsmith who prospered greatly during the Restoration
Eccentric 19th-century genre painter or the first Irish Realist? Julian Campbell considers forgotten Irish artist George Sharp, in this his bicentenary year
Early in September a judging panel made up of international design experts gathered in Dublin to select the finest examples of Irish Design for the 2002 IDI Design Awards, Steve Thomas Emberson reviews some of the winners
