Following my trip to the Kilmainham Goal I visited the nearby
Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) that is located in the former Royal Hospital Kilmainham building. Unfortunately during my visit the main Hospital building was closed for renovations and only a small new gallery space was open. Despite this closure the grounds are beautiful and the small exhibition I had the opportunity to see was well done.
The Royal Hospital opened in 1684 as a home for retired soldiers. The building continued to be used for this purposed for 250 years. In 1984 it was taken over and restored by the government. In 1991 the building opened as the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
The IMMA gardens are done in a classical style that reflects the heritage of the site. This traditional
atmosphere is contrasted with outdoor sculptural art. The contrast highlights the usage of the space in a modern purposeful way while still maintaining elements of the long history of the site.
During my visit the only exhibition that was open was
"Leonora Carrington: The Celtic Surrealist" located in the Garden Galleries. The exhibit was framed as a retrospective of Carrington's work and featured over 80 examples of her work in a variety of mediums including paintings, tapestries, works on paper, and sculptures. Some of the works exhibited refer to Irish and Celtic lore while others explored the influence of Mexican culture. Her artwork was also accompanied by a number of examples of her written work and journals. It was interesting to see a mixture of archival material on display alongside the art exhibition.
The exhibit was organized thematically and was had interesting signage explaining the different styles and influences on Carrington's artwork. However, the exhibit space is fairly small. During my visit there was a number of students in the building as part a formal class visit. The shear number of students seemed overwhelming in the tight space, with many of them sitting on the floor sketching as there was very little gallery seating.
Photographs by
Andrew MacKay
The exhibit was organized thematically and was had interesting signage explaining the different styles and influences on Carrington's artwork. However, the exhibit space is fairly small. During my visit there was a number of students in the building as part a formal class visit. The shear number of students seemed overwhelming in the tight space, with many of them sitting on the floor sketching as there was very little gallery seating. 
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