In the run-up to Christmas, there are few places better suited to escaping the frenzy than galleries and museums. Most are quiet, accessible spaces, and serve to remind us that art, like the spirit, endures.
At this time of year, we are also reminded that art is not the niche interest some might take it to be. Most galleries have a range of affordable objects for sale, and few gifts are as likely to bring pleasure as a handmade artwork or craft.
What follows are seven galleries that have made a special effort to help you invest in the perfect present this Christmas.Remember: Buy local, think heirloom.
The Crawford is a public, rather than a commercial, gallery, but it boasts one of the best giftshops in the city. “This year, we have a brilliant range of books to accompany Bad Romance, our latest exhibition on the stained glass artist, Harry Clarke. They range in price from €8 to €60,” says marketing executive Sorcha O’Brien.
“We also have a diverse range of books on artists like Seán Keating, Dorothy Cross and James Barry. And we stock a gorgeous range of notebooks by Cork’s own Badly Made Books, with archival photos of the Crawford Art Gallery from the 1920s, at €22.50.
Should Know, a colourful introduction to art history.”
Cork Craft and Design run an outlet all year round at St Patrick’s Woollen Mills, Douglas, but this year the organisation has also opened a pop-up shop at Douglas Village Shopping Centre.
“We have more than 100 members,” says manager Máiréad McCorley, “and the issue for us always is finding enough space to show their work. Thankfully, we’ll be running the pop-up shop until the end of December.
“We stock everything from ceramics by Siobhán Steele and porcelain by Orla O’Regan to illustrations of Cork by Jill Cotter. Prices range from €5 or €10 for small items like Christmas decorations up to €3,000 for a dining table by Tony Farrell and Bernard Corkery.
“The criteria for everything we sell is that it be of a high quality and handmade in Cork.”
The annual Winter Exhibition at the Lavit is a curated showcase of the best of Irish art, craft and design. “This year, we have more than 50 artists and makers participating,” says gallery director Brian MacDomhnaill. “One difference from previous years is that we’ve included more sculpture. At the top end, we’ve got a man on horseback, in stone, by Michael Quane at €8,600, but there are also ceramic pieces by Aisling Roche at €750 and Aleksandra Kowalcyzk at €300.
“We’ve also got a range of prices in paintings, from work by Pascal Ungerer at €4,600 to Rebecca Bradley at €650. People buying an artwork as a present often opt for a piece that reflects on a particular place. Brian Smyth paints views of Cork city a lot, while Gary Kearney does architectural paintings, of buildings such as the Elysian. Again, these are affordable, at around €800.
“We also stock a range of functional ceramics, crafts and jewellery, so there’s something for everybody, really. We often find that people will come in looking at artworks before Christmas, and then come back to invest in January.”
Backwater Artists’ annual Winter Salon opens on December 7, and will feature work in two price ranges. “Everything in Studio 12 is available for under €200,” says studio director Elaine Coakley, “while we have larger pieces, that cost more, in the Corridor Gallery.
“The artists participating include Fiona Kelly, Deirdre Frost, Shane O’Driscoll, Paul Gaffney and Ailbhe Ní Bhriain. Backwater studios are home to 83 artists at the moment, so there’s a huge range of work, from painting, print and photography to sculpture and ceramics.”
Cork Printmakers are housed in the same premises as the Lavit and Backwater galleries, and also host an annual showcase of work, opening on November 30. “This year, there are more than 60 artists involved,” says studio manager Maeve Lynch. “Everybody’s back working in the studio again, after Covid, and we’ve got in about 250 new pieces in the past year.
“There’s a whole range of prices, sizes and techniques. Prints cost anywhere from €20 to €900, but most would be priced between €80 to €300. The smallest would probably be Deirdre McKenna’s lighthouse etchings, which are 12 x 12cm, while artists like Emma O’Hara, Paul la Rocque and Debbie Godsell have produced a lot of larger screen prints.
“The work is unframed, so it can be rolled up and taken away on the day. It’s easier to put in the post that way as well.”
Uillinn in Skibbereen runs one of the best supported winter showcases, usually on a particular theme, in its Stairwell Gallery. “This year, we put out an open call to artists throughout Co Cork, asking them to respond to the idea of Place in Motion,” says Petrina Shortt, the gallery’s public engagement assistant. “We had a great response; there are 75 pieces in the show.”
Among those exhibiting are Thomas Scerri, whose work in mixed media on board, Ephemeral Attachment, is priced at €350; and Mary Bowen, whose acrylic on board, Unfilmed Endings, is priced at €450.
“Most of the work in the show is priced between €100 and €450,” says Shortt, “while the most expensive is €750. They’re smaller pieces; drawings, paintings, photographs, prints and sculpture. The work is affordable, and we have a good turnover; it’s a way in for many buyers. We also stock cards and prints and other less expensive items in our shop.”
- Uillinn’s Winter Showcase runs until January 27
The Christmas Show at the Blue House Gallery in Schull features work by 62 artists. “Everything downstairs is priced at under €300,” says director Helen O’Keeffe. “We stock everything from paintings, drawings and prints to textiles, stained glass and furniture. The artists showing here include Jo Ashby, Lesley Cox and Alison Ospina, who makes very quirky furniture; her hazelwood and wool footstools cost around €290.
“There’s more expensive work – by the likes of Ian Humphries, Hughie O’Donoghue and Janet Murran – upstairs. Prices would go up to a few thousand.
“Sales are already going well. We had ten on our opening night, and there’s been a steady stream of people in since. We’re very accessible, on the main street in Schull, and Courtyard Crafts is two doors down.”
