Irish Art Now: Contemporary Art Auction in support of Pallas Projects/Studios

About

Artworks by over 70 established and emerging artists including: Willie Doherty, Amanda Coogan, Liam Gillick, Corban Walker, Abigail O'Brien, Paul Hallahan, Barbara Knezevic, Salvatore of Lucan, Julia Dubsky and many more  Online catalogue

Pallas Projects/Studios, who have been breaking new ground for Irish visual arts and culture since 1996, are to showcase the work of Irish contemporary artists in a NYC-style fundraising auction, with the help of Whyte’s and The Irish Georgian Society.

This exciting collaboration between the auction house and the artist-run space will introduce Irish contemporary art – painting, print, photography and sculpture – to seasoned auction-goers, with many affordable works and the chance to secure a choice piece by a major Irish artist, or to grab a bargain by a future prospect.

It also presents a great opportunity for budding collectors to enjoy the auction experience for the first time, and start a collection of their own with a unique artwork.

It will demonstrate the strength and breadth of Irish contemporary art: with renowned Irish painters, already familiar to the auction house, alongside internationally-established artists, who are already selling work through the leading Irish contemporary and international galleries and art-fairs (Frieze, Art Basel), exhibiting at home in museums (IMMA, The Hugh Lane), and far and wide in art biennales (Venice Biennale) and international institutions.

The lots include specially created work by Willie Doherty, twice nominated for the Turner Prize, and British artist Liam Gillick, who exhibits regularly in Ireland with Kerlin Gallery and represented Germany in the 53rd Venice Biennale, both of whom have produced new one-off pieces especially for the occasion. In addition the auction will feature the work of many hugely talented emerging artists who have been championed by Pallas in recent years.

Run with the support of Whyte’s, who are graciously donating their fees to support the not-for-profit sector, it will take place in the grandeur of the Octagonal room of the City Assembly House, aptly built by the Society of Artists in Ireland between 1765-71, as the first public exhibition gallery in Ireland and Britain.

The event promises to be an entertaining spectacle, with pop-up food, drinks (from the likes of Teeling Whiskey and Galway Bay craft brewery), and surprise guests (such as Ardal O'Hanlon who previously launched the event).

This gala evening will showcase how contemporary art is connected to the continuum of art history, dealing with aesthetics, style and concepts that can be seen to channel and chart a line from the old masters – through to 20th century Irish modernists Mary Swanzy, Louis le Brocquy, Cecil King and Patrick Scott – right up to the most cutting-edge work being produced today.

Pallas Projects/Studios was initiated in 1996 at a time when there were few opportunities for recent graduates and younger artists to work and exhibit, and commenced to engage and develop such opportunities from the grassroots up – developing projects with Irish artists such as Garrett Phelan, Niamh McCann, Jesse Jones, Brendan Earley, and Sarah Browne & Gareth Kennedy, and many more who have gone on to exhibit at a the highest level internationally. It has seen the organisation hosting exhibition programmes in a semi-derelict block of council flats, a ‘white cube’ space in a former milking parlour in Smithfield, to curating shows for Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane and Limerick City Gallery of Art.

Since 2012, PP/S has firmly established itself as part of the fabric of the community in Dublin 8 – in a converted school in The Coombe – and continues to develop opportunities for both emerging and established artists, and the contemporary visual arts in Ireland, with eduction programmes for local schools, and internationally through critically acclaimed projects such as the 'Artist-Run Europe' publication. Their curated programme has produced the new open-call Artist-Initiated Projects series focused on supporting emerging artists, while their mission to stimulate critical discourse around Irish art practice has seen the development of the Periodical Review, an annual fixture that invites a collaborative review of art from around the country.