SANDRA Bell's first solo show in Dublin, which goes under the title Rhythm and Rhyme, comprises of a large collection of "Celtic" flavoured bronzes, many of which seem to deal with feature music and travel.
Bell's way of working investigates, with determination, the enormous chromatic possibilities of her chosen metal. Patinas hop from familial greens, through browns and even blues, with their mottled, weathered colours then frequently and graphically set against the clear, golden hues, of highly-polished bronze and brass.
Her forms involve cool ellipses tracing a smooth circuit up through a mostly compact space. There are one or two larger works, such as the weighty Ship, in which still golden rods seem to hold a taught are in shape.
Recently the artist has been commissioned to produce a sculpture to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the opening of the world's first duty-free shop. Two preliminary versions of this piece, The Spirit of Duty Free, can be seen in the present show, while a full-size version stands in Shannon Airport.
It is not difficult to imagine which of the versions might have appealed to the commissioners of the work. One is a heroic and positively soaring twist of energetic metal, the other features what appears to be an ashtray, filled to spilling point with cigarette butts.
