Review of the Olivier Cornet Gallery by Arran Henderson

One of the first things I like about the Olivier Cornet Gallery is the building it inhabits, a splendid old townhouse in the heart of our North Georgian Core, and thus also plonked in the middle of the old Gardiner Estate (the famous family who owned and developed this entire area, during the 18th century). The gallery is almost beside the famous Belvedere College too, the Jesuit-run secondary school and alma mater of James Joyce, among other famous past pupils. 

The gallery building still maintains many of its original features, visible in the grand reception rooms at entry level where Olivier’s gallery resides. Olivier is fiercely loyal to his stable of artists, and each of them in return has proved original, eclectic and engaged. For the visitor, whether casual, pop-in one or a cultured connoisseur finely-tuned to the latest avant-garde trends, the welcome will be just the same, warm, genuine and sincere. It’s Olivier himself who makes this gallery, with a passionate commitment to the visual arts allied to a rare and welcome humility, and wonderful generosity of spirit. So, go visit, either to walk away with your own masterpiece under your arm, or simply to browse and enjoy the art, and this wonderful space. 

Either way you’ll find the welcome just the same. 

Arran Henderson (writer, curator, architectural enthusiast, local historian and owner of Dublin Decoded walking tour company), August 2018.