Be seduced by Paddy's cocktail
There is an air of enduring patience about this figure in Paddy Campbell's sculpture. With an elegant line flowing from her carefully arranged hair through her refined evening gown, this clearly is a lady and one who is at ease with her body, as her thigh-exposing pose reveals.
She's also someone who has been awaiting the arrival of someone or something for more than a minute or two, as confirmed by her shoes having been tossed off for comfort. And she perfectly exemplifies a special exhibition entitled, suitably enough, The Art of Seduction.
Featuring sculptures by Campbell and paintings by his Italian art teacher Simona Dolci, this exhibition is on display at Gormley's Fine Art Gallery on Dublin's Sth Frederick St until November 22. (www.gormleys.ie)
Although he may have been best known for those oriental teas and his sticky buns, Campbell actually originally studied art at evening courses at the National College of Art back in the 1960s. Since the closure of Bewley's in 2004, his has been a creative mind unleashed and his output both prolific and impressive.
This first joint exhibition by Campbell and Dolci explores the many faces and facets of seduction, a theme that has fascinated artists and the rest of us since time immemorial.
Including a life-size Mata Hari, Campbell's contribution features women in notably classical poses, suggesting an eternal admiration for the opposite sex. Confirming this, he describes the essence of seduction as being "about need, about vulnerability, and that, combined with its empowering effects, is a very potent and very human cocktail."
