Irish Museum of Modern Art

Today I decided to take a walk and see something new.  I ended up at the IMMA - the Irish Museum of Modern Art.  I first explored the Formal Gardens before going into the Museum.

The Formal Gardens and IMMA are home of the former Royal Hospital Kilmainham, which was founded as a home for retired soldires by James Butler, Duke of Ormonde, Viceroy to the English King Charles II in the late 1600s.  The hospital was designed by William Robinson with French influences and is considered Ireland's foremost classical building.

Retired soldiers remained at the hospital from 1684 through the early 1900s.  After that, the building was the Garda Headquarters.  It was later used to store some of the folklore collection of the National Museum.  After years of neglect, it was restored by the Irish government in the early 1980s.  For a short while it was called the National Centre for Culture and the Arts, then later officially designated "Irish Museum of Modern Art" in 1989.  It opened to the public in 1991. 

The feature exhibit when I visited was the work of Lynda Benglis, an artist known for her polyurethane foam and latex poured sculptures.  You can read here about her exhibition at IMMA. 

Here is a photo of the artist in 1969 (courtesy of this website and courtesy of Cheim & Read, NY):

 

North, South, East, West - sculpture by Lynda Benglis, made specially for IMMA.

It consists of 4 bronze cantilevers which meet in the center, with a geyser shooting water up.

I'm glad I visited the IMMA.  It had been on my list for a few weeks.  It was smaller than I imagined, but I liked that about it.  I liked the Benglis exhibit as well as the work of lesser known local artists.  I was also intrigued by the IMMA's residency programme - you can read about it here.

Have any of you been to the IMMA before?  What are your thoughts on the museum or on Lynda Benglis?