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The first Irish solo exhibition by Julian Opie – one of Britain’s most renowned contemporary artists, has just opened at Gormley’s in Dublin. These new pieces extend his exploration of abstraction and human identity into new dimensions in a range of works, including large-scale portraits, sculpture, reliefs and screenprints. The show runs until February 8.
Rebecca Salsbury James (1891-1968) – Happy Home: Bowl of Vegetables
This luminous depiction of root vegetables piled into a bowl showcases Rebecca Salsbury James’s signature style: exacting, hard-edged, and flat. It was among the top acquisitions at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2024. A resident of Taos, New Mexico (living not far from her close friend Georgia O’Keeffe), James focused on reverse glass painting, a challenging medium explored by a number of modernists, although none mastered it to the same extent as James. Happy Home: Bowl of Vegetables is one of her largest and most elaborate works, and demonstrates her precise technique of layering color in pristine compositions.
Aidan Foley will offer this Bentley at Ashford auction.
Not every kitchen clear out yields a Bentley, the bronze front doors once at Harrods and lithographs by Miro, Picasso and Dali. But Ashford Castle is not your average kitchen and all these lots will be included in Aidan Foley’s online auction of contents from the kitchens and lodge there on January 20 and 21.
The luxury hotel is carrying out a refit. Among masses of catering equipment and rare once off collectibles is a pair of plate glass doors in their bronze surround originally at Harrods. The large doors were acquired for Ashford Castle as part of a scheme that was never realised. Each one is a single plain glass panel.
The Bentley is estimated at €10,000-€20,000 and there is significant interest in it already. There is a Porsche too. A selection of around 50 lithographs by Miro, Picasso and Dali will whet the appetites of collectors. Around 700 lots will come under the hammer. The catalogue is online and the auction is on view for three days from January 17 in Cong, Co. Mayo at the Old Mill just outside the back gate of the castle.
A Miro woodcut from Ashford Castle
Louis Le Brocquy (1916-2012) – Tain Series – Metamorphosis (1969). UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,800 AT HAMMER
This lithographic brush drawing from Louis le Brocquy’s Tain Series kicks off Morgan O’Driscoll’s off the wall online art auction which runs until the evening of January 13. Numbered 61/70 and from a private collection it is estimated at 1,500-2,500. The catalogue for the sale is online and bidding gets underway at 6.30 pm.
Sir Max Beerbohm – Portrait of Oscar Wilde
The refined and engaging collection of Barry Humphries (1934-2023) – best known for his characters Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson – comes up at Christie’s in London on February 13. Driven by knowledge, passion and curiosity his collection was built over more than half a century.
Sand Dunes, Ambleteuse by the Australian painter Charles Conder leads an auction of 250 lots with estimates from £200 to £300,000 (€240 to €360,000). The best of fin-de-siecle decadent literature features a collection of Oscar Wilde related material including a presentation copy of The Importance of being Earnest. There is a selection of 19th century European and Symbolist art with work by Khnopff, Delville and von Stuck. These feature along with examples of Impressionism and modern British art, Modern Design and highlights from Dame Edna’s personal collection from costume and glasses to caricatures.
Charles Conder – Sand Dunes, Ambleteuse
Detail from A Meeting by Harry Clarke at the National Museum of Decorative Arts in Dublin
Cork’s loss is Dublin’s temporary gain as an exhibition of Harry Clarke stained glass windows from the closed for refurbishment Crawford Gallery are on show at the National Museum of Decorative Arts and History at Collins Barracks, Dublin for at least the next two years. Harry Clarke’s Stained Glass brings together six panels – three from the Crawford – which have not been previously shown together. On display are: The Consecration of St. Mel, Bishop of Longford by St. Patrick; The Meeting of St. Brendan with the Unhappy Judas: The Godhead Enthroned; The Unhappy Judas: A Meeting and Richard Mulcahy.
THE annual Turner watercolour exhibition is now underway and with major exhibitions focussed on Picasso, Mainie Jellett and Evie Hone it is going to be an exciting year at the National Gallery of Ireland. We will have to wait until October for Picasso: From the Studio, a monographic exhibition in collaboration with the Musée Picasso national-Paris.
Picasso lived surrounded by his art. His personal life and his work, his homes and his studios were always intimately linked. This exhibition places Picasso in the context of his studios, highlighting the various facets and phases of his art and life. It will explore the key locations that defined him, from his arrival in Paris at the start of the twentieth century to his studio in Villa La Californie (1955-1961) in Cannes. Featuring paintings, sculptures, ceramics, and works on paper, as well as photographic and audio-visual works the exhibition will run from October 11 to February 22, 2026.
Mainie Jellett & Evie Hone – The Art of Friendship from April 10 to August 10 will bring together 90 works from these pioneering Irish modernist women artists. The exhibition will highlight the early convergences and later divergences in their styles as they developed distinct artistic voices. Featuring paintings, stained glass, and preparatory drawings, it reveals how both women were trailblazers in Irish art although remaining connected to conventional themes such as religion and landscape.
Ludovico Mazzolino – The Crossing of the Red Sea Photo, National Gallery of Ireland
Among many more events at the Gallery is the display of Ludovico Mazzolino’s masterpiece The Crossing of the Red Sea (1521). On display from February 15 to July 6 it celebrates the conservation and re-display of a rarely seen work. Supported by a grant from the TEFAF Museum Restoration Fund, the painting has undergone extensive scientific analysis and conservation, revealing its remarkable detail and historical significance. Mazzolino, who worked extensively for the D’Este rulers of Renaissance Ferrara, is best known for his small- scale paintings.
Meantime the annual Turner extravaganza at the National Gallery comes with a new twist in 2025 with an exciting exchange with the National Galleries of Scotland. Both institutions benefitted from the bequest of the wealthy English collector Henry Vaughan. The 38 Vaughan Bequest Turner watercolours which he bequeathed to Scotland are now on display in Dublin. Ireland’s Turner collection are being showcased this month at the Royal Scottish Academy Building in Edinburgh.
Visitors have an opportunity to see and appreciate a new selection of these masterful watercolours in the annual January show of 2025.The works on loan range from his detailed topographical views of the 1790s to the vibrant and expressive watercolours of Venice and the Alps that highlight his innovative techniques. The exchange, very much in the spirit of Vaughan’s bequest, comes after many years of discussion and planning by the two institutions.
Bequeathed in 1900 the Turner watercolours have been displayed every year since 1901 with the notable exception of the pandemic year of 2021. It was a stipulation of the bequest that the delicate watercolours be displayed only in January, when the natural light is at its lowest. Turner’s Watercolours: Scotland’s Vaughan Bequest runs until January 31 and is supported by Grant Thornton.
Animals from the Japanese zodiac in miniature made in the 18th and 19th century are on display at the Chester Beatty library in Dublin until March 23. The twelve zodiac animals – rat, ox, tiger, hare (rabbit), dragon, snake, horse, goat (sheep), monkey, rooster, dog and boar (pig) – represent the 12 year cycles in Asia.
On display are tiny sculptures known as Netsuke in the shape of these animals carved from materials such as wood, ivory or metal which tell the story of these animals. In the Edo period (1615-1868) men used netsuke as toggles to secure personal items like money pouches and smoking accessories which they hung from their sashes. Netsuke became fashion statements and inspired artists to express a wide variety of motifs. Originally derived from the ancient Chinese astrological calendar the display highlights how these stories were uniquely developed in Japan. 2025 is the Year of the Snake, a symbol of revival and renewal in Japan.
WHITE MARBLE INLAID CHIMNEY PIECE
This white marble chimney piece of inverted breakfront design features at Mullen’s classic and contemporary interiors timed online auction at Laurel Park, Bray, which runs until January 5. The estimate is €2,500-3,500. There are 653 lots on the catalogue with 208 lots of furniture and 66 lots of art. The top furniture lot is a circular Chinese rosewood inlaid table (€3,000-4,000).
Donald Teskey RHA (b.1956) – Atlantic Swell (2015). UPDATE: THIS MADE 8,000 AT HAMMER
Atlantic Swell by Donald Teskey is at €6,000-9,000 the most expensively estimated lot at Morgan O’Driscoll’s Off the Wall online auction which runs until January 13. The catalogue features work by artists including Arthur Maderson, Mark O’Neill, Damien Hirst, Graham Knuttel, Sean Scully and Mr. Brainwash. The catalogue is online and the sale will be on view in Skibbereen on January 9, 10 and 13.
