The July Edit with Richard Gorman

By Lizzie Gore-Grimes
30th Jun 2017

Richard Gorman is one of Ireland’s leading abstract painters, having exhibited in galleries and museums all over the world. Dividing his time between Dalkey and Milan, and his extensive travels in Italy and Japan, all lend a unique character to his paintings. Here he shares his list of places to go and names to know for the month of July.

EAT

Listing my favourite place to eat is easy. It’s DeVille’s in Dalkey. Chiefly because it’s a 10-minute walk from my house but also because the food there is consistently good. I love that there is always a lively buzz to the place.

DeVilles, Dalkey

STAY

My most recent hotel find is the Hotel Des Grands Hommes in Paris. It’s one of those perfect small Parisian hotels with lots of charm and style but none of the snobbishness. And if you make it over to Paris this month, make sure to drop into the Monteverita Gallery on Rue de Turenne, where I am currently exhibiting along with 8 other artists in a show called Round Colours, until July 15.

Cerulean Shuffle 2, by Richard Gorman, 2016

VISIT

If you only did one thing this summer, I would vote you make it a visit to Vence, just 20 kilometres outside Nice, to visit the Matisse Chapel. It is quite simply one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. The design of the chapel was the final masterwork Henri Matisse made to honour the nurse and nuns who looked after him in his final years. While there, make time for a lunch reservation at nearby Les Baccanales for a bit of one star-Michelin spoiling in a stunning garden setting. All their ingredients are locally sourced and much of it is grown in the garden itself. Coming in tight second though is a visit to the gorgeous Italian city of Vicenza (a UNESCO world heritage site) to see Bellini’s magnificent Baptism of Christ in Santa Corona church. Breathtaking.

Matisse Chapel, Vence

BUY

I have been spending quite a bit of time in Milan recently and have been working with photographer Salvatore Licitra, who is Gio Ponti’s grandson. This connection has reinforced my interest and admiration for the late, great Italian designer’s work. This Livia chair was first released in 1937 and has recently been reissued in a series of wonderful bright, primary colours. I have ordered four for my studio. As you may have noticed, I enjoy bright colours.

Gio Ponti’s Livia Chair

SHOP

Any time I’m in town in Dublin I try to visit Anthony Peto’s beautiful hat shop on South Anne Street. He has stores in Dublin and Paris and each hat is beautifully made, they make the perfect gift for someone, or just for yourself.