Cavan artist’s work acquired for National Collection
Two pieces by Cavan-based artist Rita Duffy are among more than 100 works of contemporary art purchased for the National Collection by the Irish Museum of Modern Art and the Crawford Art Gallery.
‘The Housework Series (series of 15)’, and ‘Exodus- 12 of July’ were purchased following an allocation of €1.5m from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to the IMMA and Crawford Gallery.
The investment builds upon the €1m fund provided to Crawford Art Gallery and IMMA in 2020 for the acquisition of artworks to support Irish artists during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The purpose of the funding award was to respond to significant gaps identified in the Collections of the National Cultural Institutions.
Through the recent support the IMMA acquired 24 works from 17 artists, and the Crawford acquired 80 artworks by 40 artists.
A total of 48 artists were Irish, and 38 artists identify as female, 16 as male and 3 as non-binary.
The Crawford is currently undergoing a major capital project, supported by the Department, that will see the expansion and modernisation of the gallery, the provision of new exhibition spaces, a new public gallery and a Learn and Explore facility to engage new audiences.
Belfast native Rita, who works from her studio at the Old Courthouse in Ballyconnell, received her BA at the Art and Design Centre and her MA in Fine Art at the University of Ulster. Her art is often autobiographical, and reflects on Irish identity, history and politics.
She is an Honorary Member of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA), and was awarded the Gold Medal, Royal Ulster Academy of Arts in 2006. Her work can also be found in many collections including; Arts Council of Northern Ireland; Ulster Museum, Belfast; Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb; The Drawing Museum, New York; and the Office of Public Works, Dublin.
Also purchased was a work by Aideen Barry who last year exhibited her installation titled Oblivion at Cavan Townhall.