Curated by Sync & Swim, who previously curated and installed the art collections at The Dean Cork and The Dean Galway, the Leinster Hotel artwork primarily features original works, with several commissioned artworks, as well as selected limited-edition pieces. The collection was created in response to the eclectic and luxurious interior design of the hotel, and features works by more than 80 artists including Richard Gorman, Samuel Walsh, Tom Climent, Clea Van Der Grijn, Diana Copperwhite, Salvatore of Lucan, Siobhan Piercy, Brian Teeling, Paul Hallahan, Cecelia Danell, Sarah Iremonger, Domino Whisker, James Earley, Thais Muniz, Peter Smyth, Tom Phelan, Eileen O’Sullivan, Michael Canning, Leah Beggs, Eamon Coleman, Ruth Medjber and many others.
Sync & Swim were delighted to work with the Press Up Hospitality Group funded Dean Art Studios, purchasing a range of superb original works by several of the visual arts residents there, completing the circle of philanthropic arts investment by providing artists with space to create, free of financial worry, and subsequently purchasing work that has been produced in that space.
The Leinster Art Collection was project managed by Aileen Galvin at Sync & Swim, who works with arts clients including the National Gallery of Ireland, Music Network, Music for Galway, Animation Ireland, Fresh International Film Festival, First Music Contact, The Ark, Landmark Productions and many more. Curation for Sync & Swim was led by award-winning Cork artist Debbie Godsell, whose work features in numerous private and public collections at home and abroad.
‘It was incredibly special to work on the curation of The Leinster Art Collection. The brief was to respond to the sumptuous interiors created by O Donnell O Neill, where luxe fabrics and textures are layered with bright, delicate botanical motifs”, notes Aileen Galvin. “Our direction, as always, was to focus on Irish and Ireland based artists and to uncover work that would engage guests and visitors and create dramatic focal points in a variety of spaces. She adds: “It is an absolute privilege for Sync & Swim to be enabled by Press Up Hospitality Group to invest significantly in Ireland’s visual arts community and to showcase emerging creators alongside internationally acclaimed Irish artists. The purchase, framing and installation of these works is a direct investment in the Irish creative ecosystem, driving opportunities and revenue for artists, studios, printers, galleries, framers, installers, designers and photographers, and the multitude of suppliers that support the work of these artists and arts workers.”
Highlights of The Leinster Art Collection include several paintings by established Irish artist Melissa O’Donnell (FKA O’Faherty). Melissa works in the realm of contemporary painting, drawing and print. Her works offer alternative views on nature whilst paying tribute to past masters and historical depictions of this subject. The works collected for The Leinster, are botanical in theme, Melissa’s sumptuous palette and rich choice of colour making her work the perfect choice for the hotel.
