Curio of the week was the Art Supermarket in Brown Thomas which held three openings, with the result that everyone thought they had missed the best party. The Supermarket - original paintings at reasonable prices are displayed in racks so you can pick and choose - is the brainchild of James West, who first operated the idea in Harvey Nichols in London and Leeds.
West brought the idea to BTs with the help of artist and dealer Stephen Lawlor, and the two feel that it might revolutionise the way people buy art. There are over 50 artists - with 15 from Ireland - showing their work, many of whom came along to all three parties including Nikki Purcell, English artist Sarah West, Chris Banahan, and Spanish artist Rosanna Casano, fresh from a highly acclaimed exhibition in Madrid.
Folks perusing the racks were artist Catherine Owens, who compiled U2's Popmart visuals and her mother Nora Owens; RTE's Kathy O'Connor; batik artist Bernadette Madden; NCAD's Henry Pim; designer Richard Lewis; Reuters Irish MD, Maureen Marlowe; Mary Ainscough of the American Chamber of Commerce, and Mary Bruton, the stylist responsible for "making over" presidential candidate, Professor Mary McAleese.