Solomon Fine Art is delighted to be hosting ‘Strong Women’ – a solo exhibition of sculpture in bronze by BOB QUINN to be held at our new gallery premises in Balfe Street (just off Grafton Street) from 11-24 November 2011.

Born in 1948, Bob Quinn enjoyed a long career within the Irish advertising business as a commercial artist, designer and later as the head of a successful design and production company. About ten years ago he left the business world to become a full time sculptor based in Blackrock, Co. Dublin where he currently lives with his wife and two daughters.

Collectors of Quinn’s work will already be familiar with many wonderful characters he has created; the art collector peering intently at a painting, a mischievous young girl perched on a wall eating an ice-cream, three middle-aged friends dancing exuberantly at a concert, or the gentle old lady out feeding the birds in her garden. Spanning multiple generations from young to old, his work is a celebration of the drama and the nobility of the most ordinary of human activity.

Living with three women at home, it comes as no surprise that the theme of Quinn’s latest exhibition is ‘Strong Women’. Focusing on females from all ages and walks of life, Quinn celebrates the universal themes that women face up to everyday – as sisters, daughters, mothers, wives and friends. In some of the new subjects there is great humour and energy, such as the sculpture of the formidable bride whisking her man away on horseback to elope. And in others, female strength is portrayed with a quiet dignity, particularly in the sculpture of Mary, the mother of Jesus poignantly grieving at the foot of the cross or in the gentle embrace of a woman comforting her friend.

Although loosely described as figurative, Bob’s art is expressionist and his deep knowledge of anatomy allows him to abstract the human form and make the simplest of observations. His lifelong influences have been Epstein, Marini and Giacometti and painters such as Millet and Degas. In terms of the craft of sculpture he enjoys the whole time worn process: working from preparatory sketches to the wax or clay original, he then makes his own moulds before taking the wax through the long casting procedure to the patination process, resulting in the permanence of the final bronze sculpture.

Bob has pursued his love of drawing and sculpture throughout his career, illustrating several publications and as a regular contributor of illustrations to the Independent group of newspapers. His sculptures are in numerous public collections such as AIB Bank and University College, Dublin and in private collections throughout Ireland, Britain and Europe.