Originally published in print in September 2020.

Editorial Note: this piece was written before the institution of LEVEL 5 COVID-19 guidelines.

Following the gradual lifting of lockdown restrictions, many of Dublin’s best-loved galleries have once again opened their doors to the public. Having gone to great lengths to implement safety measures, most require online pre-booking and are enforcing social distancing, meaning that lovers of art can once again enjoy a trip to the gallery, anxiety-free. Here is a list of the galleries that have opened, and the exhibitions currently displaying that are not to be missed.

 

IMMA is currently open six days a week, and operating on an online ticket booking system. General admission is free, and includes access to the gallery’s Lucian Freud exhibition. This is the fifth exhibition of the gallery’s Freud Project, a collection of works by the prolific realist painter most known for his intensely observed expressionist style. This exhibition focuses on themes the painter turned to time and time again in his work, as well as his relationship with his studio, and the role and function of the artist’s studio more generally in the creation of art.

 

Those hoping to visit the National Gallery of Ireland will be pleased to note that there is no need to book tickets in order to visit. The gallery is currently exhibiting ‘Shaw and the Gallery: A Priceless Education’. It explores George Bernard Shaw’s ties to the National Gallery, a place whose halls he wandered frequently throughout his life, describing it as the “cherished asylum of my boyhood”. This exhibition features a diverse array of items given by Shaw to the gallery, including postcards, letters, photos, sculptures, and more. 

 

Also currently on display at the National Gallery is a collection of works by the Spanish Golden Age artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo portraying the story of the prodigal son. It is available to tour virtually on the gallery’s website. Another notable work on exhibit is Frederic William Burton’s ‘Hellelil and Hildebrand, the Meeting on the Turret Stairs’, which can be viewed on Thursdays and Sundays only.  

 

The Gallery of Photography is currently using an online booking system. On display is ‘Love’s Fire Song’ by Enda Bowe, accompanied by a sound installation by Max Cooper. This work by Bowe explores youth culture on both sides of the peace walls in Northern Ireland, and focuses on the customs both factions participate in despite their many differences. Many may recognise the style Bowe’s work from the promotional photos for Normal People, which he worked on with Lenny Abrahamson. 

 

Anyone hoping to see what other creatives have been up to during lockdown should plan a visit to the Kerlin Gallery, to see Elizabeth Magil’s ‘Her Nature’. This exhibition of small paintings was conceived during the artist’s lockdown at her farm in rural County Antrim. The artist describes the paintings as “a nod to nature but also a kind of lament to the strange times we were living in”. Also on display at the Kerlin Gallery is a new body of work by Samuel Laurence Cunnane, accompanied by an essay by Brian Dillon titled ‘Ambiguities’.  These works negotiate the idea of the outskirt and its many meanings, from the physical to the peripheral, edge-of-consciousness, and were created using analogue photographic techniques.

 

Temple Bar Gallery and Studios is hosting the first exhibition of Swinguerra by Bárbara Wagner and Benjamin de Burca. An exploration of social injustice and systematic oppression in Brazil, this exhibition gives positive representations of Black, queer, transgender, and non-binary people, and through collaborative filmmaking illustrates the values of vernacular pop culture and its ability to bring people together, and to create social change. This film was made in conjunction with the Arts Council Ireland and can be visited by booking tickets on the gallery’s website. 

 

The Hugh Lane Gallery does not have any visiting exhibitions on display at the moment, but is open to visit without booking online, and all permanent fixtures, including the Francis Bacon studio, are open.

 

The Chester Beatty is currently displaying ‘Siam’, a collection of photographs taken by John Thomson in 19th century Siam (modern Thailand). The images include portraits, cityscapes, and scenes of religious and royal ceremonies, as well as the first photographs ever taken of Angkor Wat. It can be toured both virtually and in the gallery, and does not require booking.