A major exhibition of the work of the distinguished British sculptor, Barry Flanagan shows at the Irish Museum of Modern Art from the 28th of June to the 24th of September.
Barry Flanagan: Sculpture 1965-2005 presents a comprehensive survey of the artist's work over 40 years and comprises 37 installations and sculptures, several of which are being shown in the grounds of IMMA.
Barry Flanagan's series of hare sculptures, which he began in the late 1970s, are among the most instantly recognisable artworks of the last 20 years. Playful spontaneous and full of life, many show their subject engaged in human activities like dancing, playing musical instruments and sports, and using technology.
Visitor to IMMA will already be familiar with The Drummer, which has marked the main entrance of the Museum since its donation by the artist in 2001. The exhibition brings together eleven similar works, spanning the many variations which Flanagan has brought to this strand of his work.
The exhibition features Empire State with Bowler Mirrored, 1997, where two matching hares step jauntily over the Empire State Building and Large Troubadour, 2004, featuring a disconsolate hare sitting alongside his cello, as if questioning his ability as a musician.
Barry Flanagan: Sculpture 1965-2005 also features a number of important and rarely-seen pieces from the 1960s and '70s inspired by Flanagan's interest in the iconoclastic works of the French poet, novelist, playwright and inventor of "pataphysics" (the science of imaginary solutions), Alfred Jarry.
These early works are regarded as extremely radical when first shown and continue to be so today. Many are of an ephemeral nature such as ring n, 1966, a simple pile of sand, being remade for the exhibition, alongside works in stone and marble from the 1970's including The stone that covered the hole in the road (the skull), 1974.
The exhibition also includes Carving No. 6 a, 1982, from the artists 1980s series of beautiful marble sculptures made in collaboration with Italian artists from Pietrasanta. Barry Flanagan: Sculpture 1965-2005 coincides with the display of ten large bronze sculptures in O'Connell Street organised by Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane.
Born in 1941, Barry Flanagan studied at the Birmingham College of Arts and Crafts and St Martins School of Art, London, and has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions internationally. In 1982 he represented Britain in the Venice Biennale and his bronze hares have been exhibited in many outdoor spaces, most notably Park Avenue, New York and at Grant Park, Chicago.
Admission is Free.
Opening Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday: 10am - 5.30pm
Sunday & Bank Holidays: 12pm - 5.30pm
Irish Museum of Modern Art
The Royal Hospital
Kilmainham
Dublin 8.
Tel: +353 (0) 1 612 9900
Web: IMMA
