GROUP SHOWS AT THIS TIME OF YEAR OFFER A RANGE OF AFFORDABLE OPTIONS
More thoughtful, yet far more fraught, than socks, gifting art shows your sensitive side, but where do you start? Sellers in Ireland range from purveyors of unlimited editions of prints to private galleries and auction houses where you’re very quickly adding zeros to your benevolence budget. In May this year, an Andy Warhol acrylic and silkscreen, Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, became the most expensive work of 20th century art to sell at auction, when it cost its buyer $195 million, or about €187 million. Assuming your budget is somewhat less, we’ve rounded up options to suit smaller pockets. As galleries seem to deem the idea of a Christmas sale as way too uncool, look out for the staple “winter group show” at this time of year for all your art shopping needs.
SOLOMON GALLERY
Another winter group show, this time at Dublin’s Solomon Gallery, has works from €155 (a delicious Bernadette Madden screen print) to €12,000 (a John Behan Famine Ship sculpture). Can’t make it into town? The handy viewing room feature on the Solomon website gives you a chance to “view on a wall”, which at the very least gives a sense of scale. Can’t decide between Anthony Scott and John Short? Leah Beggs and Cléa van der Grijn? You can also pick up a gift voucher, or spoil the surprise with home viewing, where the gallery can arrange for you to more or less try before you buy. “By gifting artwork you are also directly supporting artists and galleries,” reminds the Solomon’s Bennie Reilly. Until December 23rd.
