Red dots and pink gowns at the RHA

THE SOCIAL NETWORK: The only thing worrying the sculptor Imogen Stuart at Monday evening’s opening of the RHA Annual Exhibition…

THE SOCIAL NETWORK:The only thing worrying the sculptor Imogen Stuart at Monday evening's opening of the RHA Annual Exhibition was her hair. The octogenarian member of Aosdána kept fixing it. She had arrived in an open-top car.

The rash of red dots on her exhibits meant limited editions of her pieces were selling fast.

RHA members mingled in their pink gowns, which would give members of the Curia a run for their money. It’s not known if the visiting dignitaries at an international symposium at St Patrick’s College in Maynooth will get to see one of Stuart’s iconic pieces this week. The symposium is taking place before the 50th International Eucharistic Congress, which opens tomorrow week. Stuart told me that her large bronze John Paul II with Children has been moved “farther away from the library in Maynooth”. It had sat prominently in front of the library. “It’s State-owned now, you see,” she said. (A spokesperson for the National University of Ireland in Maynooth told me that Stuart’s work had been moved to a different location to accommodate an extension of the library.)

Prof Dervilla Donnelly enjoyed Monday evening’s opening. She is a member of the honorary council of the RHA. “I’m professor of chemistry here, so I make sure they mix the paint properly,” she joked. Donnelly, as an honorary member of the academy, is entitled to wear a blue gown.

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She was joined on Monday evening by her sister Kyra, who is a barrister. The two of them are avid art collectors.

The artist Robert Ballagh was balanced in his appraisal of this year’s exhibition. “In some respects it’s the same as usual. There are some wonderful pieces, and not-so-wonderful pieces.”

Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn was more impressed this year than last. He is an architect by profession, so he can spot a good draughtsman.

Who we spottedThe ceramicist Alison Kay; the artist DavidDunne from Mullingar; the artist Esme Lewis; Mr Justice Michael Moriarty; Joe Dunne RHA; James Hanley RHA; George Potter RHA; the art students Robin McCartan from Blessington and Róisín Barron from Sandymount; Nick Costello, promotions manager at Warner Bros