Visual Arts Special: Five Exciting Irish Artists To Watch Out For

Brian McCarthy

An Irish artist based in Dublin, Brian McCarthy works exclusively in oils. Centering on magical realism, and infused with political satire, his work has been featured by many fine art auctioneers in Ireland, including Adam’s and Whyte’s, as well as being exhibited in some of Dublin’s main galleries, such as the Royal Hibernian Academy and the Douglas Hyde Gallery. In 2016, his ‘Ghosts Of Palmyra’ was accepted for inclusion in the Royal Hibernian Academy’s Annual Exhibition, while paintings from Brian’s 1916 Commemoration series were on view at the Trinity Gallery. Capturing Ireland’s mood in the aftermath of the banking crisis, Brian’s last solo exhibition ‘Boomtown’ sold out within days. Receiving widespread media attention and acclaim, selected works have since been used to design book covers and illustrate feature articles. For more information go to: http://www.artinprint.com/

Eileen O’Sullivan

Since graduating from NCAD in 2015, Eileen’s work has been shown in many group exhibitions, and has been purchased by a number of key collections in Ireland. In June 2018, she was awarded ‘The K&M Evans Prize for Painting’ at the Royal Hibernian Academy’s 188th Annual Exhibition. She also won the 2018 Solstice Visual Arts award at the 7th Surveyor exhibition. The winning piece, ‘Two Layers’, an oil on board painting, was selected from over 300 entries by 112 artists. Eileen’s work centres on ideas of comfort, belonging and place, taking the familiar, and transposing it into something special through the versatility, freedom and language of paint. She often paints from photographs taken in her personal environment, from both her present experiences and her childhood. For more on Eileens work go to http://www.eileenosullivan.com/

Brian Palm

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Brian Palm moved to Ireland for a prestigious scholarship at NCAD, graduating with an honors in 1981. Palm has had his work shown in solo and group exhibitions throughout Ireland, including the Royal Hibernian Academy, Royal Ulster Academy, Eigse Exhibitions and the Galway Arts Festivals, to name a few. Also a musician in the Mary Stokes Band, Brian splits his time between art and performance, commenting, “I used to support my art with music, now my music is supported by my art.” Recently Brian had an exhibition of work in the Duke Street Gallery, which coincided with the release of An Post’s stamp featuring his dynamic maritime artwork, “RMS Leinster Exploding”. For more, go to dukestreetgallery.ie

Sibyl Montague

Sibyl Montague’s practice incorporates sculpture, video and installation. A graduate of Chelsea College of Art and Design in London, Sibyl has gone on to earn a number of prestigious awards, including the Institut Francais Residency Programme at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. She was also named as the Emerging Visual Artist by the Wexford Arts Centre in 2012. An artist in residence in the Temple Bar Art Gallery (of which she is also a director), her recent exhibit, Saplings, is a site-specific installation of sculptural designs based around the speakeasy that Montague’s grandfather worked and drank at in New York in the 1920s. Many of the pieces are composed of found materials, used to represent modern consumption. For more, go to http://www.sibylmontague.com/

Sibyl Montague at the Temple Bar Gallery. Copyright Miguel Ruiz

Chanelle Walshe

Having graduated from NCAD in 2010, Chanelle Walshe has gone on to have a number of exhibitions in Ireland’s finest galleries. In 2015, she was the recipient of the Thomas Dammann Award, and also completed a studio residency at the Royal Hibernian Academy. Both unsettling and compelling, her work centres on her interest in organs, flesh, soil, ‘divine intelligence’ and the healing process. Looking at the human body and the earth, she has worked from pelvic bones, ribcages, hearts and lungs, and her research often takes place at universities and medical museums. Currently her work is focused on the human brain. For more on Chanelle, go to https://www.chanellewalshe.com/