What began as a distraction from grief for the masked art patron has become an annual event providing exhibition space – and a €10,000 prize – to artistsThe Art Riddler at Atelier Maser on Charlemont Street, Dublin 2. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien Sun May 24 2026 - 06:00 • 4 MIN READ“Expensive therapy” is how the Art Riddler describes his philanthropic endeavours over the last four years. The masked figure emerged on the Dublin art scene in 2021 with an idea to put together an exhibition – taking no commission, charging no entry fees and stumping up a €10,000 prize fund from his own pocket. A sort of Willy Wonka for the art world, but instead of a golden ticket, participants get an out-of-the-blue phone call from the anonymous man.About 35 exhibitors took part that first year in Studio 10 on Wicklow Street. Needless to say, there was some scepticism – who is this guy and why is he doing this? But the Art Riddler – who remains anonymous to most, including the artists taking part – had no ulterior motive other than a desire for distraction from his grief for a while.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.“I found myself lost. I’d 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’t been] thinking about my current situation for 30 minutes or an hour. It was a nice feeling,” he says.One of the galleries he frequented was the now closed Hang Tough Contemporary on Wicklow Street. “On opening night I’d pop along, and while it was busy perhaps, maybe it wasn’t 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. “I 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.”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 €250,000 in total over the years. He has also paid out €10,000 to the four winning artists each year: Sophie Gough, James Hayes, Ciana Fitzgerald and Dean O’Rourke.Having spent the guts of €80,000 of his own money without any financial return, it may seem too good to be true. “I didn’t tell the full truth about costs to friends and family; naturally people go, ‘You’re not making any money out of this, what’s the idea?’ I played it down slightly,” he says. “If you stop and think, it is kind of madness.”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.The Art Riddler at Atelier Maser on Charlemont Street, Dublin 2. Photograph: Bryan O’Brien While year one was an uphill battle, drumming up interest from prospective artists, he’s kept it going and now they speak to him as a friend and mentor. “The artists tell you the ins and outs of the art scene, what they find hard, the closed doors,” he says. “So 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.”Having no background in the art world, it would come as no surprise if he’d encountered a degree of snobbery, but he says that has never been the case. “Maybe 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’ve not received any negative feedback. I feel maybe [some] institutions have supported it a bit more in attending the event than others though.”He decides who adorns the walls – candidates fill out a short application form with a photo of their work attached. “I’m not interested in the college you went to or what awards you’ve got, that’s not a driving factor. I look at why you’re entering as well as the art – the background to the piece. Maybe it’s deep grief, or mental health problems and they share that with me. It’s lovely.”Those selected receive a personal call from him. “Some people cry, some need to sit down. It’s great excitement.” 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.Two Shorten the Road by David Hamilton Street Vendor, Kasbah. Photograph: Kevin Sharkey About 100 artists will take part in this year’s 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’Toole, Ian Cumberland, Maser and Aoife Scott, as well as more up-and-coming artists like Luke Reidy, Ann Maria Bridges and Dáire Lynch. This year the winner will be chosen by the exhibitors, one vote per person. [ The artists of Sherkin Island off West Cork: ‘You might not see anyone for a couple of weeks’Opens in new window ]This year, exhibitors will be charged a €50 fee – a first – but the Art Riddler will cover all other costs, as he has done since day one. “Galleries charge 40 to 50 per cent for selling a painting, but they’re businesses,” he says. He won’t be doing that. “Unfortunately, I can’t keep bankrolling it myself, but if you sell a painting for €5,000 you keep all of that €5,000.“People must be thinking ‘he’s a millionaire’, but I’m not. Because people didn’t know my full story the first few years, they maybe thought, ‘he’s giving a lot away’, but I was taking a huge amount from it. You could say it was expensive therapy, but it was well worth it.”The Art Riddler 2026 exhibition runs from May 28th-31st at One Charlemount Square, Dublin 2Dust From A Moth's Wing by Aoife Scott Portrait of Yuka, oil on linen, by David Hedderman Painting by Rae Perry We Are Sometimes Autumn by Debbie Chapman Painting by Ann Maria Bridges IN THIS SECTION