Lavit Gallery to break new ground on Cork's Patrick Street

Cork’s Lavit Gallery will open an outpost on Patrick Street in the city centre this week.

The premises, which will be a shop window for contemporary Irish art, will open on Thursday and will serve as a test for the possible expansion of the gallery to meet a growing demand.

No 64 Patrick Street will bring the best of Irish art directly to people on Cork’s main shopping street in the run-up to Christmas.

Artworks that will be displayed will include paintings by Louise Nyland, Diarmuid Breen, and Tom Climent; bronze sculptures by James L Hayes, John Behan, and Alexsandra Kowalczyk; ceramics by Sinéad Fagan, Sonja Guenther, and Etain Hickey; and glassware by Aoife Soden.

Seasonal gifts 

Seasonal gifts by Gillian Nunan, Joanne Robey, Kilcoe Studios, Barbara Hubert Bookbindery, as well as highlights from the winter exhibition — which is now on at the Lavit Gallery — will also be displayed at the outpost.

Opening times will be from 10.30am to 6pm, from Wednesday to Sunday each week up until Christmas, including Christmas Eve and the preceding Monday.

“When Cork Arts Society was founded in the 1960s, it was the local business community that provided the first venue for the organisation’s gallery on Lavitt’s Quay and, subsequently, the first pot of money to fund the Student of the Year Award, which has been running since 1967,” gallery director Brian Mac Domhnall said.

“It is in this context that Lavit Gallery gladly took up the offer of a temporary premises in a prime city centre shop front for the run-up to Christmas in 2024.

“This iconic heritage building, where unique apartments will be developed on the upper floors next year, will be home to a smaller version of Lavit Gallery with a selection of fine art, craft, design, and gifts on display,” Mr Mac Domhnall said.

“It is hoped that this prime location will introduce the gallery to new audiences and bring the work of Irish artists and makers to the attention of a new generation of collectors.”