Lismore Castle exhibition makes a creative case for more seating in galleries

Key facts

• Exhibition 'Salon' curated by Matthew Higgs at Lismore Castle Arts in Ireland.
• Over 40 paintings and an eccentric assortment of chairs from the castle.
• Chairs include gothic thrones, stackable school chairs, and a geometric black metal designer number.
• Paintings hung to be viewed from a seated vantage point.
• Higgs is director of White Columns gallery in New York for over 20 years.
• Higgs champions maverick artists: self-taught, outsider-ish, and trained artists with similar sensibilities.
• Higgs knows or has met 90% of the artists in the show.
• Exhibition runs until 25 October.
• Artists include Denzil Forrester, Kaye Donachie, Diana Cepleanu, Gillian Carnegie, Bill Lynch, Andrew Cranston, Merlyn James, Stephen McKenna, Margot Bergman, Adam Keay, Lisa Brice, David Byrd, Jennifer Lee.
• David Byrd died in 2013, gained recognition only months before his death.
• Lismore Castle dates from the 12th century with Victorian interiors by A.W.N. Pugin.