A summer party for members of the newly formed ‘Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery and Studio’ provided the perfect platform to celebrate the opening of a new garden exhibition featuring the work of renowned Irish sculptor Thomas Glendon.

Glendon specialises in sculpture, letterform, ecclesiastical work and design in stone, wood and bronze. He learned the basic skills of his trade while working in his father’s stone yard in Deans Grange, Dublin.

After an apprenticeship with Michael Biggs, one of the best stone carvers in Ireland, Glendon set up a studio in Bray, County Wicklow. In sculptures, including the monumental ‘Anterior Head’ now on show in Banbridge, Glendon uses granite sourced from Walsh’s quarry in the Dublin Mountains.

The large mica crystals and hardness of this stone makes it particularly suited for outdoor work. Glendon has exhibited throughout Ireland and the UK and is a regular contributor to the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin. He is also well known for the lettering he has created for buildings including the RTE headquarters in Dublin and Dublin Zoo.

Fans of Glendon’s work joined gallery members as well as Council staff, including the Vice-Chairman Councillor Carol Black, at the summer party. Music was provided by Mellow Strings. The new garden exhibition runs until Sunday 30 October 2011. 

Launched in March this year, ‘The Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery and Studio’ has already attracted over 80 members. Successful events to date have included a Mexican evening with authentic food made by Quails’ Mexican chef Fernando Correa and a trip to the Frieda Kahlo and Deigo Rivera exhibition at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin. Future events include a concert by Camerata Ireland and guided tour of the ‘Irish Art and Modernism’ exhibition at the Ava Gallery, Clandeboye, and a lecture by Paris based fashion expert Godfrey Deeny.

Speaking at the event, Gallery Curator Dr Riann Coulter thanked Chairman Fionnuala Cook and her committee for helping to set up the ‘Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery and Studio’. Dr Coulter said: “The ‘Friends of the F.E. McWilliam Gallery and Studio’ has been a huge success since it was launched in March. We are delighted that so many local people have joined and that our events have been so well attended. By becoming a friend you can provide a vital support to the gallery and can potentially help to secure funding for the organisation in the future. Being a friend is of course also great fun!”