Don’t dilly-Dalí, folks

A Salvador Dalí sculpture valued at €1.1 million is currently on display in Cork at one of Ireland’s biggest art and sculpture events.

Unveiled this week for the Art and Soul exhibition at the Castlemartyr resort, ‘Dance of Time II’ is the largest Dalí sculpture evert to be displayed in Ireland.

The piece is to be the star attraction at the event which runs from 25 May to 23 June.

It is a 405kg, 1.5m high bronze sculpture showcasing Dalí’s enduring, melting clocks motif.

The ehibition will also feature works by Andy Warhol and Damien Hirst, and is being hosted at the five-star Castlemartyr resort by Gormleys, which operates art galleries in Dublin and Belfast.

“The melted clock is the most well-known and beloved of Dalí's iconoclastic images, and he chose to portray this consistently throughout his lifetime,” said Oliver Gormley of Gormleys.

He added: “The ever-present fluidity of time is represented in this sculpture as time not only moving, but dancing in rhythm to the beat of the universe.

“Dalínian time is perpetual and dances on, stopping for no man, history or even the cosmos,” Mr Gormley concluded.

The free event, showcasing a total of €8 million worth of works by the biggest names in international and Irish art, includes an outdoor exhibition of 90 large sculptures and installations in the 220 acre grounds of the 17th century manor estate.

Art and Soul will coincide with the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival from 27 May to 3 June at 11 venues across the Blackwater Valley, including an open-air lunch time recital at Castlemartyr on 2 June.

More information and accommodation offers can be found on gormleys.ie and at castlemartyrresort.ie.