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This weekend, a mysterious benefactor will probably walk among the art lovers and potential purchasers at an exhibition of up-and-coming artists in Dublin’s One Charlemont Square.
He’s the Art Riddler, a man so inspired by how art has helped him through a difficult time in his life that he decided to give something back.
This is the third year of his exhibition which runs from October 26 to November 3 – and it is the final one too, as what had begun as a lockdown passion project soon snowballed.
“I was going through a difficult time in my life and I found myself going into galleries – I hadn’t done that a huge amount before,” says Art Riddler.
“One of the tag lines I use as part of the Art Riddler is ‘art sets you free.’
“And what I noticed was if I went into galleries, like the National Gallery or plenty of others around, that they were well worth visiting as they are beautiful places, regardless of whether you know anything about art or not.
“And that is the actual beauty of art – you don’t need to know anything about it – you just have to have some sort of emotion evoked by looking at a painting, whether that’s sadness or joy, negative or positive; but that is what art can do for you.”
Looking at paintings was a way of dissolving the world around him for an hour or more.
“I found when I went into galleries, I’d be in there for an hour and your mind would completely switch off, your outside life would disappear and you’d be there just enjoying the art.
“It was only then when I came out of the galleries that I would find I was switching back into day-to-day life. So it was total escapism for me and that’s where the idea of “art sets you free” came into my mind. And for this final exhibition it has become the spirit behind it.”
The first Art Riddler exhibition came about out of boredom.
“I set up an Instagram account in March 2022 to create my own exhibition,” he says.
“The more I went to galleries, the more I started wondering, how do emerging artists in particular keep going? I saw it was hard for them to get their work shown, and that it was also hard to sell their work – whether it is excellent or not.
“Gallery space is difficult to get, and when they do get exhibitions it is hard to get people through the door to visit the art. So as a distraction, I decided to put on my own exhibition and focus on that for a couple of months.
“I didn’t actually think it would take off, yet here we are three years later.”
The mystery behind his identity came about simply because he’s camera shy and didn’t want to be in the spotlight.
“I wouldn’t be hugely into social media and you have to expose yourself in a way that I normally wouldn’t do,” he says.
“I’m like a lot of people, I don’t particularly like photographs of myself and thinking about putting on the exhibition, putting myself out there and getting my photograph taken doesn’t really appeal to me.
“I thought that if it failed miserably then at least no one would know who I am. And so it was I came up with the silly name and the silly mask. There wasn’t a great deal of thought put into it in that respect but I didn’t think it would take off the way it did.”
Art Riddler had imagined his exhibition would be a once-off. He paid for the gallery space, offered a €10,000 cash prize for the artist he loved the most and, obviously, helped sell paintings.
“When I look back on it now, between setting it up in March and the first exhibition which was in October, it was a very short timeframe to get everyone to follow me on Instagram, to believe it was real and not a scam and pulling off the exhibition.
“The first exhibition I had 37 paintings from memory, the second year I had 48 and this year I will have about 110.
“The philosophy behind it is that everything is for sale and 100% of the sale price on any piece goes directly to the artist. I don’t make any money out of it and I supply the effort around setting up the exhibition and the promotion of it and I also have a cash prize for the winner of €10,000. If any artist sells a piece, then they make 100% of that as opposed to the normal gallery take of 40-50%.
“So artists are keen to get into the exhibition.”
The first winner was Cienna Fitzgerald who exhibited last year and will be in this year’s show, too. Last year’s winner, Seán O’Rourke, will be in this year’s exhibition as well.
Art Riddler has no idea yet who will win this year, but he does know the 110 or more artists are well deserving of their slot – even though none of them know who is behind the Art Riddler mask.
“Art matters to me as it gave me an outlet, a change of scenery in my life that I required at a particular point,” he says. “Art isn’t anything that I would have been involved in before – I had a passing interest in it like a lot of people, but I wouldn’t have bought art or attended many events to do with it; I wouldn’t have known many artists.
“So when I decided to do an exhibition, it was a challenge for myself to set up to see if it would work and it was something of a distraction for me, something totally outside of my normal dayto-day life and career, something quite fresh and new.
“I genuinely didn’t think I would be doing it after the first one so it has just developed and grown.
“I have a large following on Instagram and despite not meeting the artists face to face, I have got to know them, albeit from behind a mask. They are an interesting bunch and a bunch that need an advocate behind them to promote the talent that is there.”
When the exhibition opens on Saturday at One Charlemont Square in the capital and runs over the following week, the Art Riddler will appear in his mask and disguise at some point.
There are only a handful of people who know who he is, but this circle is expanding because the show has got bigger and he wants to raise awareness so more people come and buy art.
It has been a very expensive hobby but Art Riddler is delighted that he took the plunge and is confident in his belief that the show is the biggest independent art sale in Ireland this year.
So, as it has been an expensive pursuit, given that he looks after all the costs for venues, staffing, administration, prize money and so on, that means 2024 will be the last Art Riddler exhibition probably, he adds.
And Art Riddler says he will be happy to fade into the background when this show is over. There will be one last moment for him, though.
“I will be at the exhibition in my disguise to make an appearance,” he says.
“But I also like going in as myself too and wandering around incognito – that’s where you get the best feedback as no one knows it’s me.
“And when it’s over I will be very happy to disappear, without most people ever knowing who I am.”
‘Art Riddler 24: Art Sets You Free’ takes place at One Charlemont Square, Charlemont Street, Dublin 2 from Saturday, October 26 to Sunday, November 3. See ArtRiddler.com for information.
*This article was originally published on Extra.ie.