On this episode, Caren Sullivan talks to artist Niamh McCann at her studio (Temple Bar Gallery and Studios)I n 2024. Always curious about what is like to be inside an artist studio? Watch full Instagram episode here.
Niamh McCann’s work is a considered, individual voice in contemporary Irish art; effortlessly correlating strands of three-dimensional work, painting/drawing and installation. This in itself is unpredictable and frequently humorous, as evidenced in the playful use of appropriated political figuration in her body of work, Furtive Tears. Layering and re-coding the given image, figure or cultural trope, a quasi-deified equilibrium is achieved when juxtaposed with globalised cultural imagery.
McCann is recipient of the Norman Houston Commission Award, Washington DC and RHA Stephen McKenna Studio Fellowship. Commissions include Bile Buadha a large scale outdoors sculptural work at Termini Complex, Sandyford and PAVILION/MOTHER’S LAMENT an outdoors sculptural work at National Museum of Ireland, Museum of Country Life. In partnership with Logan Sisley and National Museum of Ireland, McCann co-curated the exhibition Tableaux Vivants at Dublin City Gallery the Hugh Lane looking at collection artworks as totemic messengers. The exhibition was centered around a series of McCann’s work acquired by the Hugh Lane.
Artist residencies include Centre Culturel Irlandais Paris, Fire Station Studio Production Residency, Dublin, Penthouse Artist Residency, Brussels, Cemeti Arthouse, Indonesia and HIAP residency in Helsinki, Finland.
Solo exhibitions include Hairline Crack [a dialogue] at the Rudolf-Scharpf-Galerie des Wilhelm Hack Museum, Germany, Furtive Tears at Dublin City Gallery the Hugh Lane,La Perruque (Protest Song) at MAC Belfast and Just Left of Copernicus in Visual Carlow. Group exhibitions include: Future Perfect, Rubicon-Projects Brussels and Changing States, BOZAR, Belgium.
Niamh McCann works are currently exhibiting on the 25th Biennale of Sydney (14 March - 14 June 2026). The Biennale of Sydney is one of the leading international contemporary art events. It plays an indispensable role in Australia’s engagement with the world, and a meaningful role in the life of the nation.
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For more information, follow Niamh McCann on Instagram @niamhmccnn
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