DENNIS O'CONNOR

Man is least himself when he talks in his own person – give him a mask and he will tell you the truth.

Coinciding with this show is the premiere of a documentary film called ‘Mindspaces – the Artists Studio’, that has been three years in the making. With Denis O’Connor as narrator and guide, we are taken into the private sanctuary of the studio he has occupied since 1971 – a room rich in layered histories and detritus. O’Connor obtained access to the studio and archive of the great 20^th century artist Francis Bacon. O’Connor’s daughter, the late Dr Blaze O’Connor (1975 – 2009), was part of a small team responsible for the archaeological survey of Bacon’s famous studio, facilitating its transfer from London to Dublin. Through this survey we learn how Bacon’s chaotic studio functioned as the artist’s inspirational archive. O’Connor also turns the lens onto Lucian Freud’s studio in a revealing conversation with Freud’s biographer, the art historian Martin Gayford. Filmed in England, Ireland and France this documentary will be shown at the Auckland Art Gallery on Sunday August 3rd at 1pm. It was produced by English Director Stephanie Bennett, with support from the Chartwell Trust.