When artist John Gibbons's show opened at the Temple Bar Gallery on Wednesday evening, it was a kind of homecoming. Though Ennis-born, he has lived in London for many years. He was accompanied by his English agent, Angela Flowers, who has a strong Irish connection herself. For many years her gallery in West Cork, where she holds an annual exhibition in August, has been called Flowers West - a play on her East End gallery's name, Flowers East. Now, however, that name has been given to the new gallery that Angela recently opened in Los Angeles, where David Hockney popped in on the opening night and purchased a piece.
Art historian Dorothy Walker, also a West Corkonian, made the six-hour journey to Dublin to launch the exhibition.
Next Wednesday, Gibbons is off to Hungary where he has been commissioned to make a site-specific piece.
