The Secret Garden
Solomon Gallery @ Iveagh Gardens

Following the extremely successful programming of outdoor sculpture exhibitions by the Solomon Gallery, this year the gallery will be hosting one of its most ambitious projects to date, The Secret Garden, to be held from the Thursday 15^th May until Tuesday 27^th May 2008 at the Iveagh Gardens in Dublin.

One of the best kept secrets in Dublin, the present Iveagh Gardens were designed in 1865 by Ninian Niven for Benjamin Lee Guinness (Lord Iveagh) using an intermediate design between the 'French Formal' and the 'English Landscape' styles. With a large variety of landscape features, from rustic grottoes and cascades to a formal rose garden, maze and archery grounds, it would be difficult to find a more beautiful location in which to encounter and contemplate the diverse spectrum of contemporary sculpture by over 60 different important Irish and International artists featured in The Secret Garden. 

Suzanne Macdougald, owner of the former Lad Lane Gallery and the Solomon Gallery, has been at the forefront of the promotion of sculpture in Ireland for the last three decades.  In the 1970’s Suzanne hosted the first Henry Moore, Enzo Plazzotta and Michael Ayrton solo exhibitions in Ireland, and during the 1980s and 90s she promoted the work of eminent sculptors such as Arman, the noted sculptor team Popliteo formed by Luis Montoya and Leslie Ortiz, F.E. McWilliam (1909-1992) and Edward Delaney RHA.  Suzanne also was instrumental in establishing the careers of the well-known Irish sculptors Michael Warren and Rowan Gillespie and has been the driving force behind the temporary sculpture installations at the top of Grafton Street recently showcasing artists such as Patrick O’Reilly, Leo Higgins and Orla de Brí.  It is fitting that many of these artists will feature in this forthcoming exhibition.

The Secret Garden show will include over 100 works in bronze, steel, timber and glass by a broad range of academic to abstract sculptors including; British artists Henry Moore (1898-1986), Lynn Chadwick (1914-2003), Kenneth Armitage, Barry Flanagan and Sean Henry; French artist Bernar Venet; American glass artist Dale Chihuly; and Ireland’s Rowan Gillespie, Patrick O’Reilly, Vivienne Roche, John Behan RHA and Michael Warren.  The artworks will for two weeks temporarily reside in the Iveagh Gardens and thrive off their relationship to it, thus exhibiting sculpture’s unique power to enhance our understanding and appreciation of the spaces we inhabit.  Sculpture is special in that it connects with the natural world in a way denied to painting and has an unparalleled ability to encompass a wide variety of forms, media, and experiences that is as colourful and as varied as life itself. 

In addition to the main outdoor area, there will also be a specially constructed glass pavilion presenting smaller sized artworks in a myriad of styles to suit both indoor and outdoor environments.  Superb garden displays will also be created by the award-winning garden designer Paul Martin (amongst other awards, Best in Show at Bloom 2007 & Chelsea Flower Show medallist) who is collaborating with the Solomon Gallery on this exhibition.  

Free tours of the sculpture garden and public lectures will take place on Saturday afternoons.  Please contact the Solomon Gallery for further details. 

Click here to view images

The Secret Garden opening hours:  10am – 6pm daily

Venue: Iveagh Gardens, Harcourt Street Entrance, Dublin 2

Digital images & transparencies available by request – contact Dara McDermott at:

Solomon Gallery, Powerscourt Townhouse, South William Street, Dublin 2, Ireland

tel: +353-1-6794237 / fax: +353-1-671 5262 / info@solomongallery.com

www.solomongallery.com