{"id":464493,"date":"2026-05-24T07:34:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T07:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/464493\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T07:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T07:34:16","slug":"the-art-riddler-dublins-anonymous-art-patron-people-must-think-im-a-millionaire-but-im-not-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/464493\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art Riddler, Dublin\u2019s anonymous art patron: \u2018People must think I\u2019m a millionaire, but I\u2019m not\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cExpensive therapy\u201d is how the Art Riddler describes his philanthropic endeavours over the last four years. The masked figure emerged on the Dublin<\/a> art scene in 2021 with an idea to put together an exhibition \u2013 taking no commission, charging no entry fees and stumping up a \u20ac10,000 prize fund from his own pocket. A sort of Willy Wonka for the art world<\/a>, but instead of a golden ticket, participants get an out-of-the-blue phone call from the anonymous man.<\/p>\n

About 35 exhibitors took part that first year in Studio 10 on Wicklow Street. Needless to say, there was some scepticism \u2013 who is this guy and why is he doing this? But the Art Riddler \u2013 who remains anonymous to most, including the artists taking part \u2013 had no ulterior motive other than a desire for distraction from his grief for a while.<\/p>\n

Not long before he set up his first exhibition, his wife died at the age of 39, leaving behind two young daughters who were just two and four years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found myself lost. I\u2019d take a break and head into the city to busy myself, and would find myself going into the National Gallery or other galleries around town. It was the first time my mind switched off, and I realised when I stepped back outside, that I [hadn\u2019t been] thinking about my current situation for 30 minutes or an hour. It was a nice feeling,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

One of the galleries he frequented was the now closed Hang Tough Contemporary on Wicklow Street. \u201cOn opening night I\u2019d pop along, and while it was busy perhaps, maybe it wasn\u2019t busy with people who had any intention of buying a piece. There might be one red dot; not a reflection of the work but just not the footfall of people who were going to buy. <\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, maybe I can put on an exhibition and flood it with my friends in their 30s and 40s, [who are] buying houses and might like to buy art.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has held four exhibitions since, covering all the gallery costs. Participating artists have kept 100 per cent of the money from the works they have sold; an estimated \u20ac250,000 in total over the years. He has also paid out \u20ac10,000 to the four winning artists each year: Sophie Gough, James Hayes, Ciana Fitzgerald and Dean O\u2019Rourke.<\/p>\n

Having spent the guts of \u20ac80,000 of his own money without any financial return, it may seem too good to be true. \u201cI didn\u2019t tell the full truth about costs to friends and family; naturally people go, \u2018You\u2019re not making any money out of this, what\u2019s the idea?\u2019 I played it down slightly,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you stop and think, it is kind of madness.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mask, which he wears in almost all public settings including at the exhibition openings, adds to the theatrics but is there primarily to protect his anonymity, he says, while creating a buzz which in turns benefits the exhibition and artists.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Art Riddler at Atelier Maser on Charlemont Street, Dublin 2. Photograph: Bryan O\u2019Brien <\/p>\n

While year one was an uphill battle, drumming up interest from prospective artists, he\u2019s kept it going and now they speak to him as a friend and mentor. \u201cThe artists tell you the ins and outs of the art scene, what they find hard, the closed doors,\u201d he says. \u201cSo having done one and enjoyed it, and it serving the purpose as that distraction [from grief], I felt there was more good I could do and ran a second one, and here we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having no background in the art world, it would come as no surprise if he\u2019d encountered a degree of snobbery, but he says that has never been the case. <\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe a reluctance to enter it, a protection of work and your name, and I fully get that, but people have been supportive and personally I\u2019ve not received any negative feedback. I feel maybe [some] institutions have supported it a bit more in attending the event than others though.\u201d<\/p>\n

He decides who adorns the walls \u2013 candidates fill out a short application form with a photo of their work attached. \u201cI\u2019m not interested in the college you went to or what awards you\u2019ve got, that\u2019s not a driving factor. I look at why you\u2019re entering as well as the art \u2013 the background to the piece. Maybe it\u2019s deep grief, or mental health problems and they share that with me. It\u2019s lovely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those selected receive a personal call from him. \u201cSome people cry, some need to sit down. It\u2019s great excitement.\u201d Each artist then shares a collaboration post with the Art Riddler on Instagram, a clever way to drum up excitement and drive publicity around the event.<\/p>\n

\"TwoTwo Shorten the Road by David Hamilton \"StreetStreet Vendor, Kasbah. Photograph: Kevin Sharkey <\/p>\n

About 100 artists will take part in this year\u2019s exhibition, from May 28th to 31st at One Charlemont Square. Pieces on show and for sale over the weekend include works from established names like Laurence O\u2019Toole, Ian Cumberland, Maser<\/a> and Aoife Scott, as well as more up-and-coming artists like Luke Reidy, Ann Maria Bridges and D\u00e1ire Lynch. This year the winner will be chosen by the exhibitors, one vote per person. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0The artists of Sherkin Island off West Cork: \u2018You might not see anyone for a couple of weeks\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

This year, exhibitors will be charged a \u20ac50 fee \u2013 a first \u2013 but the Art Riddler will cover all other costs, as he has done since day one. \u201cGalleries charge 40 to 50 per cent for selling a painting, but they\u2019re businesses,\u201d he says. He won\u2019t be doing that. \u201cUnfortunately, I can\u2019t keep bankrolling it myself, but if you sell a painting for \u20ac5,000 you keep all of that \u20ac5,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople must be thinking \u2018he\u2019s a millionaire\u2019, but I\u2019m not. Because people didn\u2019t know my full story the first few years, they maybe thought, \u2018he\u2019s giving a lot away\u2019, but I was taking a huge amount from it. You could say it was expensive therapy, but it was well worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Art Riddler 2026 exhibition runs from May 28th-31st at One Charlemount Square, Dublin 2<\/p>\n

\"DustDust From A Moth’s Wing by Aoife Scott \"PortraitPortrait of Yuka, oil on linen, by David Hedderman \"PaintingPainting by Rae Perry \"WeWe Are Sometimes Autumn by Debbie Chapman \"PaintingPainting by Ann Maria Bridges <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cExpensive therapy\u201d is how the Art Riddler describes his philanthropic endeavours over the last four years. The masked…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":464494,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[615,61,60,709,80],"class_list":["post-464493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-dublin","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-magazine","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}