Artists’ work is in the dock

‘THE PORT’ is the chosen theme for this year’s Dublin Painting & Sketching Club’s annual exhibition, which opens to the public in Dublin city centre at CHQ (Custom House Quarter) on Custom House Quay.

A large national group art show, it runs for two weeks, untill Sunday, May 12.

Last year, after almost a century and a half, saw the return of this historical artists’ association to its origins – a Dublin city centre location overlook-ing the River Liffey, where it was founded in 1874.

For the second year running the club is holding its exhibition at CHQ in the heart of the city near the IFSC and Dublin Port and beside the Liffey where its roots are. It was previously held for almost two decades in Dun Laoghaire. It is being sponsored by Whyte’s Auctioneers again this year.

The President of the Dublin Painting & Sketching Club, Aidan Hickey, said ‘The Port’ was an obvious choice as this year’s special exhibition theme as it celebrates their new home and ties with Dublin Port.

“It’s an honour to be involved in the Port Perspectives Programme,” Aidan said. “Last summer our Plein Air Group was invited by the Dublin Port Company to paint in the Port. From the 1880s our ancestors-in-paint have explored the visual riches of the Liffey, the Port and the Bay. We are confident that the tradition will continue far into the future.”

A number of member artists have created some paintings with scenes of the Dublin Port and docklands, boats and subjects that reflect ‘The Port’ theme. However, there will be many other subjects on show, such as landscapes, still life, portraiture, streetscapes, floral, animal and life studies, among others.

One of the country’s largest national art exhibitions, the Dublin Painting & Sketching Club exhibition offers a broad choice of paintings to suit modernist and traditional tastes.

Around 170 works are being shown by about 90 well-known contemporary artists, over 80 club members and some additional invited artists from Dublin and other counties around Ireland. 

These works also encompass all media and styles within the broad genre of representational art, from the figurative to the abstract. The club has 11 new members, among them young artists who present vitality and a fresh, new, contemporary approach.

Works in oil, watercolour, pastels and ink, drawings, lithographs and prints are on offer, starting at around €250 (for a small print or drawing) and going up to €4,000, with the majority ranging from between €750 and €1,000.

Members exhibiting include Margo Banks, Patrick Cahill, Betty Christie, Fergal Flana-gan, Bridget Flinn, Edward Freeney, Michael Gemmell, Olivia Hayes, Tomas King, Vincent Lambe, Pamela Leonard, Padraig Lynch, John O’Flynn, Tom Roche, Tom Scott, Tom Ryan PPRHA and Club President Aidan Hickey. Hickey’s strong and distinctive work ‘Crane Clouds’ was chosen to illustrate the 2019 exhibition catalogue cover. 

Paintings are also being shown by non-members, with the invited painters and print-makers bringing fresh talent that enriches and diversifies the exhibition. Each is showing one work, while members show two. The club has a tradition of inviting guest artists since the 1950s.

The club has come a long way since it was founded in October 1874 by a group of artists who included Alfred Grey RHA, Alexander Williams RHA, Nathaniel Hone, John Butler Yeats, Walter Osborne and author Bram Stoker, on Westland Row, in view of the Stack A Warehouse on the north side of the Liffey, now restored as the CHQ.

The Dublin Painting & Sketching Club is to hold another Plein Air painting session this coming summer, followed by a small exhibition of 30 to 40 works hosted by the United Arts Club. This follows on from the success of last year’s, which culminated in a small exhibition hosted by the Dublin Port Company.

Sponsored by Whyte’s Auctioneers, the 2019 Exhibition is open to the public admission free every day until Sunday, May 12 from 10am to 5pm daily.