A considered art programme for a Dublin law firm.

Building a coherent collection of contemporary Irish work across the firm's reception, meeting rooms, and partner floors.

Project image

Client: Law firm, Dublin
Scope: Collection programme across two office floors
Services: Curation, Acquisitions, Installation

The brief

The firm wanted to move away from ad-hoc decorative purchasing and develop a serious collection that reflected their long association with Ireland — without overwhelming a working environment.

Approach

01A written collecting framework setting out artists, mediums, and tone for each floor.
02Studio visits and gallery acquisitions across a single calendar year.
03Installation oversight and a short internal note for staff and visitors on each work.

Outcome

Thirty-four works installed across two floors, with provenance and care documentation maintained centrally.

Inside the space

Three moments from the project — and why the work was chosen for each.

Foinse curates art to shape the feel of a space. Each placement below answers a specific question the room was asking — a dwell point, a sense of movement, a quiet wall that rewarded close looking.

The space

Moment 01 · Reception, ground floor

The room

A double-height arrival space, light-filled, with the firm's name set in brass on a stone wall opposite the entrance. The room reads as institutional — the work had to soften that without diluting it.

What was chosen

A large-format oil painting in muted, atmospheric greys.

Why it works here

Acts as a dwell point. Clients pause in front of it before being collected, which slows the arrival and changes the register of the meeting that follows.

The space

Moment 02 · Main corridor, partner floor

The room

A long, narrow circulation route between partner offices. Side-lit, with little dwell time. The risk was that any single piece would feel marooned.

What was chosen

A sequence of seven small etchings, hung evenly along the wall.

Why it works here

Reads as movement. The eye is carried from one end to the other; the corridor stops feeling like a connector and becomes part of the experience of the floor.

The space

Moment 03 · Boardroom

The room

Used for long client meetings. The brief was for a single work that could hold the room without becoming the subject of conversation.

What was chosen

A restrained landscape in oil on linen, hung opposite the principal seat.

Why it works here

Grounds the room. Visible from every chair, but quiet enough that it never interrupts. Several partners now choose to sit facing it deliberately.

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