The Festival Exhibition of painting and sculpture at Kelly's Resort Hotel on Rosslare Strand has become an annual fixture of the Opera Festival. It began in 1976, and this year's show opens on October 15th. Remarkable for its size and its scope, it offers work by an eclectic mix of artists, from Pauline Bewick to Sibylle Ungers, Brian Ballard to Ross Wilson. The chances are that habitues of Kelly's will already be familiar with the paintings of these artists, plus most of the other 60 or so participating painters and sculptors, because the hotel boasts a startlingly good, very broad collection of contemporary art, which is mostly Irish but also includes some notable work by British artists and artists of other nationalities. That the collection exists has everything to do with the singular character of Kelly's, which is something of a Wexford institution. In continuous family ownership since its genesis as a tea rooms on the strand in 1895, it seems to inspire a rare affection in its clients. The display of the collection turns the hotel into a series of galleries. This includes the guests' rooms, each of which has a painting or two on the walls. An entire room is given over to Maurice McGonigal, including an excellent, early, intricately detailed picture, View of a Town. That doesn't exhaust the McGonigals in the collection, though; there are more, including two large paintings in the main dining room. Diners also have the pleasure of a brash, stunningly colourful Gillian Ayres, two very good, characteristic pictures by Norah McGuinness and, one of Bill Kelly's personal favourites, an abstract composition by British artist William Tillyer.
Sean McSweeney's Barney's Studio is a fine shoreline landscape; Camille Souter's Cod is a sensitively observed study, and there is one of Gerard Dillon's Pierrots, and a fine still life, featuring three lemons, by a painter who should be better known (he is based in Germany), James O'Connor. Neil Shawcross is obviously a particular favourite with the hotel, and deservedly so. Accounts manager Joan Lambert reckons Shawcross's Red Lady, an extraordinary blast of colour, is one of his very best works, but there are also several other terrific pieces by him on view, including a study of a bowl of fruit, which typifies his spare yet sensual style. In the comfortable gallery, including the main reception area, there are outstanding works by Louis le Brocquy, Crozier (again), John Vallely, Tony O'Malley and George Rouault. Further afield there is a big, refreshing landscape by Brian Bourke, an austere, wintry Patrick Collins, several of Ross Wilson's strong animal works (horse, hare and pig), a composition based on Killybegs Harbour by George Campbell and more atmospheric pieces by Sean McSweeney. Benedict Byrne has carved a monumental pair of mythological figures which stand by the pool: Daphne, pursued by Apollo, is already in the process of changing into a tree. There are some real surprises. These include a big Elizabeth Magill painting, Leathered, from her 1989 exhibition (a body of work she has yet to equal), a fine, relaxed David Hockney drawing, Anne Putting on her Lipstick, a big, complex David Crone painting, Candelabra, and a sombre, understated Howard Hodgkin. The roots of the collection extend back to the 1950s, when the painter and teacher Kenneth Webb was invited to hang some of his own and his pupils' work in the hotel. Encouraged by the response, the Kellys bought some of these pictures to keep permanently, and they responded to an Arts Council initiative to show work by Irish artists in contexts outside of the usual gallery circuit. This too went well, and encouraged Breda Kelly, then running the hotel, to buy the works exhibited there under the aegis of the Arts Council. Emboldened by these forays, she felt confident enough to take the initiative, and the first Festival Exhibition was held. The majority of pieces that have found their way into the collection since then have come from the annual shows. But this is not exclusively the case. Some works are purchased from galleries. One person pleased at this development was Joan Lambert. She had long had an instinctive interest in painting and sculpture, and taking on the organisation of the annual show - a formidable task - gave her an accelerated education in contemporary Irish art.
Having acquired some of William Crozier's paintings and got to know him, Bill Kelly tentatively asked him if he would be interested in painting an image that might be suitable for introducing the wine list, and for embellishing the labels of the hotel's house wine. Bill Kelly recalls: "He said he wouldn't be nterested - he would absolutely love to do it." Crozier's sentiments on wine-making are recorded on the wine list itself, ". . . my fellow artists who produce wine and `the water of life', I regard as a cut above the rest of us. Bacchus, after all, was a God." Both Joan Lambert and Bill Kelly point out, separately, that when they decide to buy something to add to the collection, it's usually after living with it for the duration of the show. Their eventual selection always differs from their initial choice. Pieces with an immediate impact tend to pall; more subtle works open up more gradually and grow on you. This is the real strength of the collection: it comes from a genuine enthusiasm for the works that has developed gradually over time.
The Festival Art Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture at Kelly's Resort Hotel, Rosslare, runs from October 15th to 31st
