JENNYHUSTON:THE SAD SECRET BEHIND OUR SLIM SOCIAL BUTTERFLIES

JULY2008 €4.25 (t2.essts)

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HOTSUM R l,tt FOR HOl.UrEAND ABROAD , *il OFENSTENCE

allerv on'ner and glam dame (responsiblefbr thc visceral"Famine" sculpturcs Suzannc Macdougald opens the Former model and on thc Qual's and in Toronto) and door to nrc in an unlikcly attirc - one of Ireland's Nlichael Warren. Orla de Bri, Barry Flanagar.r, a scarf and curlers.It's l0.30am Bob Quir.rn,Patrick O'Reillv and Anthonv Scott and hcr hairdresser has alreadv most respected numbcr among thc roll-call of Irish sculptors becn and gone from Suzanne'sCo Kildarc rural s'hose s'ork Macdougald promotes, and shou's idvll. Thc IMAGE photographer is to arrivc at gallery owners? to its best advantagein her imaginativc outdoor noon, so u'c cnd up chatting in hcr bathroom cxhibitions. u'hile nrake-up artist Viv helps thc fbrmer Suzanne Cre:rtinga buzz is something Macdor,rgaldhas model prcpare fbr hcr close-up.The frlrmidable Macdougaldtalks als'avs excelled at. "In mv carcer I'r'e had an 62 -r'ear-old looks great evcn rvithout opening or a private viov even' three u,eeks. In make-up. What's her secretf "Stress," smiles to DEIRDRE all thosc 1'earsI have missed three openings." the managing dircctor of Porverscourt This stamina, and business acumen, can be Townhouse's Solomon Gallcrv MTJLROONEY tracedback to 1967, u'hcn "I u'asresponsible for first in Dublin, Croc's, The re has been plenw of that latel1,,leading about he'r'e e fro1t opening the discothique up to the opening night of The SecretGarden, v u'here L'tcrivain is nou'." The entcrprise,u'hich the culmination of her lifblong ambition to artarr anod tltnehe rongk nrg she ran *'ith her Iranian husband, u'as inspired stage a major outdoor exhibition - bv "u,ondcrful clubs in London like Anrrabclle's I . l. .I Ireland's largest - shou,casing over 150 ancl wtndrng patn and the SaddleRoom". sculpturesby 60 artists in the magical setting of Spotting a gap in thc market, "thcrc rvas Dublin's h'eagh Gardcns. that led her to nos'herc smart and sophisticatcd like that in Barely a wet dav in the job, Martin Cullen, Dublin", Macdougald decided to do something new Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism, where she is todav. about it. "lt u,as vcrv glam. But thc licensing opened the exhibition on a splendid Ma.v larvs rvcre extremeh' strict, so y.ou couldn't evening. "We u,ere expecting 300 people, and serve alcohol after a certain time, and police 800 turned up. It rr'as a big social occasion." s'ould raid \,ou constantlr'.All the drink x'ould Approximatelv 1,000 people per dav came to disappearoff the tablc and vou u'ould cnd up see thc shou' during its short and hugely rvith cups and saucers- as if \\'e wcre serving successfirl run. Macd

62 s more innocent." She and her model contemporarics,rvho included bought it. It took me about eight vears to pa,vit off - 27 vcarsago." Grace O'Shaughnessyand Hilary Frayne (owncr, rvith her husbar.rd The first woman to o\\n her ou'n galler,vin Ireland, "I was never Galen Weston, of Brown Thomas and numerous chain stores,as u'ell taken seriouslyat the outset. I l'as 'the blondc model'. People said, ds 26th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Canada), did fashion 'u'ho does she think she isi"' Horvever, Macdougald didn't allou' shows around the country fbr thc grand sum of -C5."Thc1' rnarried that to prevcnt her establishinghersclfas a force to be reckoned with rvell," she jokes, feigning a sigh. in thc r.r,orldof Irish contcmporary art. Known fbr reprcscntational She'snot keen to talk about her own rwo-)/earmarriage. In 1967, work as opposed to abstractor conceptual (she can't stand the likes at 21, "I married an Iranian rvho rvas at universiq' in England and of Tracl' Emin), "I'r'e lcarned on a need-to-knotv basis," she savs. his brother was at Trinity here. That rvas all a bit of a disastcr, but I "Nou', I have a vcry good relationship u,ith mv colleagues.I put have a very beautiful son, Reza." She sendsme downstairs to fbtch collections together fbr people, so that gives me more reason to a photo of hcr cute little grandson, Mattheu', in a pinstripc suit at rvork rvith the other gallerists. I bu1' for people, put collections the opening of The Setet Gnrden He is one of three beautiful together, and I also look after collcctions." grandchildren she dotes on. Suzanne relishes dealing. "I find that fascinating. I u'as in "Yes, it was very exotic," she agrces, speaking of marrlrilg nn Sotheby's and Christic's a ferv u.eeksago. That's an area I love and Iranian. "We didn't know where Iran rvas,for goodnesssake . People that I u,ould likc to do'elop." She s'as delighted to read in The 'do were \rery odd - come to the parq', but don't bring your Financial Times recentlt' that "Irish art berrveen 1976 and 2008 has boyfriend'. I remember that." incrcasedin value by 1,000 per cent. Nor.v that's a Changing the subject, shc drarvs my attention to better investment than properry" an elegant framed thank-,vou note fiom lnuis le "I'm totallv self:taught, like Louis lc Brocqur'," Brocquy, complete rvith personalised pconv she sa1's,laughing at the chcekiness of her orvn rvatercolour, and then bids me to go into hcr comparison. Suzannc is knorvn lbr kecping her bedroom, to have a peek at a black-and-rvhite gallery artists under contract. "I learned the hard photograph of her willouy teenage self, modelling a rvarr People s'ho u'ork in public institutions don't Sybil Connolly outfit in thc I960s. Besideher bed I have to make it par'," she points out. "I do." Shc alsofind a photograph ofher ten- takes immense pride in loanir.rg a sculpture by year-old French granddaughter, Bernar Venet from Tbe SecretGnrden cxhibition t

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