COLLECTOR: An exhibition of original sculptures, paintings and porcelain plaques by Patrick O'Hara, inspired by plants and habitats in Ireland and abroad, opened yesterday at the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin, writes Joe Armstrong.
Described by David Seymour on BBC's The Arts Programme in 1975 as the world's leading sculptor of wild flowers, O'Hara's porcelain sculptures have been widely acclaimed.
In 1972, Carl Dauterman, curator of European art at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, described his work as "probably the most delicate porcelain ever produced in the West". Writing in this newspaper in 1984, Kevin Myers wrote of O'Hara's achievement: "Those fellows who produced the Book of Kells were slipshod, slaphappy layabouts with shovels by comparison".
Born in 1936, O'Hara studied botany and zoology and has exhibited in the US, Britain, Switzerland and Japan. He set himself three basic rules from the outset: each sculpture would be original and unrepeated; each would be made of high-fired porcelain with colours applied as fired glazes; and he would work only from his own observations of living plants and animals in their natural habitats.
Values for O'Hara's porcelain sculptures have ranged from about €6,000 to more than €30,000 in Europe and the US, depending on size and subject matter. Sculptures in the current exhibition are understood to be valued in the €6,000 to €12,000 region.
O'Hara began his Secret Garden series of objets d'art - many of which have been acquired for State presentations - in 1976. The enlarged structure of a butterfly's egg inspired him to encapsulate tiny but life-sized sculptures within a delicate pierced porcelain "shell". This was followed by designs based on Celtic art motifs, and then an Oriental version based on the five pillars of Islam. Next came a design based on the United Nations logo, while another celebrates the Millennium.
His Secret Garden objets d'art are understood to be valued at between €2,000 and €3,000; a tenfold increase in value in the past decade. One was recently acquired by the National Museum of Ireland.
The current exhibition is his first major showing of pâte-sur-pâte porcelain plaques - white decoration on a dark background - which are mounted and framed. O'Hara's early such pieces met with critical approval and one is in the Ulster Museum collection. He has recently undertaken pâte-sur-pâte commissions valued in the €500 to €1,500 range.
As for his paintings, he told The Irish Times: "This is the very first time that I have exhibited my watercolours, so we will have to see. Private reactions have been excellent, especially to the fact that they mostly show plants living and growing in their natural habitats." It is understood the watercolours are valued modestly, in the region of €500 to €800.
It is appropriate that the exhibition should take place at the Botanic Gardens, which was founded some 200 years ago to promote the study of plants useful to man in the production of food, medicine and industrial raw materials.
O'Hara has exhibited previously at the Royal Botanic Gardens in England, the United Nations in Geneva, and at Cartier, Fifth Avenue, New York.
He will be in attendance throughout the exhibition, which runs until June 10th, and will be available to answer questions.
Admission is free and opening times are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.
