Fairy Liquid

Now the real purpose of my visit to Ireland can be revealed...
I've found it at last! The Fairy Liquid is Mine!!!
Now, bend to my will weak minded ones!!!!

Blackrock

Had a nice day today. I met Sioban in Blackrock (it's only a few stops towards Dublin on the train). We met her old friend Rachel and her boyfriend for lunch then went hunting through the mini flea market there. Sioban found some second hand books she'd been looking for for awhile and I got some religious medals (only .50 each) and a book about Michael Andrews the British painter. He was a contemporary of Lucien Freud, Frank Auerbach, and Francis Bacon.

After that we tried to go to the super market to get a duck for Christmas dinner but the lines were unbelievable! so we decided against it and went to a nearby pub and had our ciders and beer!---Time and money much better spent.

John Hoyland, Basil Beattie, Gillian Ayres

Some of the work shown at Hillsboro Fine Art, 49 Parnell Square West, Dublin 1, Ireland.

(top to bottom) John Hoyland, Basil Beattie, and Gillian Ayres.

The Liffey

The Hugh Lane and Hillsboro Fine Art (and it really was)

I had dinner with Sioban and John last night and spent the night there. Sioban made a great shepherd's pie with wine and of course cheese and crackers for after.

This morning I caught the train from Greystones and got to Dublin around quarter till twelve. First stop was the main post office on O'Connell street to post my entry for New American Paintings. Did you get yours mailed off yet Dwayne?

Next stop was the Hugh Lane Gallery. They have a good collection of contemporary/modern irish art. I was glad to see a Patrick Graham, several nice William Scotts and a room full of Sean Scullys but the highlight of the Hugh Lane is the Francis Bacon studio---its contents cataloged and moved from its original location at 7, Reece Mews, Kensington and meticulously assembled again in the Hugh Lane. It really is cool to see and gives a great insight into the artist's thinking process. The Hugh Lane also had up my favorite Jack Yeats painting...There is no Night. Robin used to have a post card of it in her apt. when we first met.

Next it was just a short walk to the west side of Parnell Sq. to visit the Hillsboro Gallery. The main draw for me there was two pieces-one very large- by Gillian Ayres. She is currently my favorite painter and I've never had the chance to see her work in the flesh before! The gallery also had work on display by Patrick Graham, John Hoyland, Sam Francis and Robert Motherwell among a few others. Oh, they also had a very nice small piece by Basil Beattie---another favorite of mine. Hillsboro's next show will be of small paintings by Alex Katz but I don't know if it'll be up before I go home.

New Drawings

Sioban Devlin & Paul O'Behnke...Irish cousins!

Gorman and Nozkowski

The first few are from the Nozkowski catalog for the show at the Rubicon Gallery. I couldn't find and pictures on the web of these specific pieces (you get the idea).

The other two are by Richard Gorman...

Hallward, Kerlin and Douglas Hyde

Today I met up with Sioban in Dublin at Merrion Square. First stop was the Hallward Gallery. The guys who own it moved shop from Cork. It was a nice space but a little unfocused due to their mid-winter group show being hung salon style. They had a few small John Kingerlee works on paper but actually some of the best work in the gallery was by one of the owners, a guy named John Brennan. He did abstractions based on the sea near Cork in a very sophisticated palette.

Next we stopped by the Kerlin Gallery. Upstairs they were hosting an installation by Liam Gillick. I can relate to some of Gillick's pieces better than others. This one was very spare, mostly nude wood with very little color---color is usually how I connect to his work.
Downstairs I asked the gallery director about Richard Gorman's work and he was nice enough to bring out several pieces so we could see them in person. I was telling him how much I like Gorman and how much trouble it was to get a catalog from a Japanese show last year. I asked if they had any catalogs for sale from past shows and he surprised me by giving me a very nice little book/catalog from a recent show!

After lunch we went to the Douglas Hyde Gallery and saw a really uninspiring show of paintings by Wilhelm Sasnal. Everything looked really half-assed and not in a good way. The work looked like a cross between '80's Neo Expressionism and Gary Hume.

I was in a good mood all day today because THE SUN WAS OUT! I couldn't believe it...blue skies, shadows cast by objects...the whole nine yards!

New Drawing

aprox 18x24 inches

Galleries, Lilliput Press X-mas party, and Dun Laoghaire Harbor

This is about the seventh straight day of rain and cold temps here. I can't complain though I left sunny Florida of my own volition. And I have to say I'm liking the cold it's just the rain I could do without.

On tues I went in to Dublin to chek out the Thomas Nozkowski show at the Rubicon Gallery on St. Stephan's Green. It was a nice show. I've wanted to see his work in person for some time (I missed the show in Memphis a while ago)and this one was a great example of his typical oil on paper,easel size work. Nozkowski is out of the mainstream and no academic at all and I think that's why younger painters admire him. His abstract work is derived from life experiences and surroundings, his images are varried and quirky and there seems to be no consistent approach to a piece.

Tomorrow I'm going in to Dublin to see shows at the Hillsboro Gallery (showing a couple of Gillian Ayres and a John Hoyland in a holiday show)and I also want to visit the Kerlin Gallery, they show a couple of people I really like such as Richard Gorman. Sioban wants to visit Hillsboro too and then we'll get some dinner.

Last night I was invited to the semi annual Christmas party give by the owner of Lilliput Press (where Sioban works as an editor).
I almost didn't go because the weather was so bad and when I did venture out I ignored Sioban's directions and went my own way. This probably added about a mile of rain soaked walking to the trip but the city did look beautiful in the rain. Dublin is lit up for Christmas and the river Liffey looks incredible. I'm glad I made it to the party though. I met a lot of interesting people---one American living here with his Irish wife and French/Irish couple living in France. The Frenchman and I talked most of the night---solving all of the worlds political problems. I also met a very nice older lady who is a publisher in London. We talked about the recent Turner prize winner and she was also very keen on Hockney so we talked about him for a while. It's really great to be able to talk art again!
I also met the press owner's son -a guy about 30 who looked like Colin Farrell-who was pulling pints and called me a pussy for leaving early and not drinking enough. I told him...(insert bad fake Irish accent here)"I see yur aftur gettin yur arse kicked talkin like dat." We parted on good terms though and I had one more Budvar for the road.

I would have stayed much later but I am a pussy and had a long rainy walk back to Tara street to catch the last train back to Dun Laoghaire.

Ireland trip

Here are a couple of photos from my trip...the sunset is walking home from the train station in Greystones and a couple of pics of my room at the house in Dun Laoghaire...