New art venue opens in Dublin

WATERSTONE’S may be closing two bookshops in Dublin but the news is not all grim in “cultural retailing”.

Demonstrating confidence in the future of the art market, Gormleys Fine Art has moved into bigger premises at 25 South Frederick Street, Dublin 2, where work by established and emerging artists is displayed throughout four floors of exhibition space.

Among paintings currently on display – and for sale – are images of Dublin by Francis McCrory, a young Belfast painter who says he is “fascinated with the process of urban decay, desolation and transition, with unprepossessing city landscapes, graffiti and street furniture . . . the ordinary, the neglected, and the often overlooked”.

McRory says his paintings, including The Ambassador and Buses at O'Connell Bridgeare intended to evoke an emotional response in the viewer by transporting them on a nostalgic, even disturbing journey to buildings and places that once held memories.

The new premises also provides the city centre with another auction saleroom. Gallery spokeswoman Lorraine Brett said Gormleys Art Auctions, previously held in a Ballsbridge hotel, would use the new venue.

The next auction is scheduled for Tuesday, February 22nd at 7pm.