Roscommon native unveils his contemporary art gallery in London
Sir Bob Geldof and Sean Mulryan attend the official opening of the Mulryan Gallery at Embassy Gardens in London on Thursday, England. Pic: Dave Benett
Roscommon man Sean Mulryan, founder and chairman of the Ballymore property group, launched the Mulryan Gallery at Embassy Gardens on the banks of the Thames in London on Thursday evening.
Mr Mulryan was joined by activist, humanitarian and rock singer, Sir Bob Geldof, and broadcaster Ryan Tubridy, at the opening of his contemporary art gallery with a sculpture exhibition featuring four artists – including Kilkenny’s Patrick O’Reilly – exploring themes of transformation, memory and the human body.
Bob Geldof described the Oran native as “an art obsessive” who has spent years “collecting, sponsoring, mentoring, discovering,” adding: “In Nine Elms he caps his achievement with this space dedicated to ideas, imagination, craft, skill and beauty.”
The launch of the Mulryan Gallery in the heart of Ballymore’s prestigious London development, Embassy Gardens, follows the 2019 opening of the Mulryan Centre for Dance at London City Island (another Ballymore development), which is now home to the English National Ballet.
Mr Mulryan started life as a bricklayer and stonemason before becoming one of the most successful property developers in Britain and Ireland, and a committed private art collector.
He said: “I have been collecting and championing contemporary art for decades. It is my hope that this gallery will become a vibrant and enduring space where artists can create, audiences can engage, and contemporary art can thrive.” Embassy Gardens is a multiple award-winning Ballymore development at Nine Elms on the south bank of the Thames, where the American Embassy relocated in 2018, acting as a catalyst for a reimagining of the area between Battersea Power Station and Vauxhall Station.
Embassy Gardens features thousands of new homes, shops and offices with panoramic views across the Thames, public works of art including the Rice Bowl by the artist Guggi, and the recently-completed crowning glory, The Capston - two interconnected buildings containing 247 exquisitely-crafted residences with art deco interiors and a private Japanese-inspired garden.
The Capston is Mulryan’s passion and legacy project featuring a carefully curated collection of artwork, and a range of art deco interiors of extraordinary beauty.
The Mulryan Gallery constitutes a permanent contemporary art gallery and a serious new addition to London’s gallery landscape which already features a number of galleries created by Mulryan at Ballymore developments.
It was formally launched last night at an event attended by artists and cultural figures including Geldof, Tubridy, supermodel and socialite Christina Estrada, pianist and composer Rosey Chan, Hollywood director Drake Doremus, Prof Frances Corner OBE, Lady Lucy French OBE and art historian Jessica Franses.
The inaugural exhibition brings together four sculptors - Vincenzo Muratore, Patrick O’Reilly, Anna Gillespie and Gabriele Risso - whose individual practices, though distinct, are connected by what sculpture can hold and convey.
