ARTISTS
John Sheehy
Studio Voltaire presents the first institutional exhibition of works by Irish
born artist John Sheehy. This first comprehensive survey of his work is
presented on a large鈥搒cale display system, allowing the presentation to change
and evolve throughout the show鈥檚 duration.
Sheehy, who lives and works in London, began painting at the age of 51. Over
the past 18 years he has produced a vast body of work that also includes
printmaking, ceramics and sculpture in addition to playwriting, poetry and
music. While in formal terms, his paintings range between portraits, landscapes
and the purely abstract, they often foreground personal or biographical
recollections, evoking the artist鈥檚 travels and his native Ireland.
Sheehy frequently returns to vernacular subjects that may appear folksy 鈥�
donkeys, sailing ships, closely terraced houses and chimney sweeps 鈥� but when
repeated across numerous works they become talismanic. Subjects may be rendered
again and again over a period of weeks or months, only to be set aside in favour
of a new focus. When viewed together, however, these series suggest Sheehy鈥檚
urgent need to capture or perhaps, expel these images.
The pace at which Sheehy produces work is extraordinary, and often is only
limited by the availability of materials to hand including canvas, paper, roof
tiles, window blinds and paving slabs. Even his largest paintings, some 10 by 20
feet in size, take less than an hour to complete. Sheehy has produced a
staggering collection consisting of thousands of images and words which he
considers as a single, total narrative.
Studio Voltaire presents several hundred works by Sheehy, many of which have
never been exhibited before, using a bespoke display system especially
commissioned from Simon Jones Studio to accommodate the many scales and mediums
of Sheehy鈥檚 practice. Only a fraction of Sheehy鈥檚 18 years鈥� practice will be on
show at any point in the show鈥檚 duration. The first selection is made by Studio
Voltaire鈥檚 Director Joe Scotland and Mark Amura of Crisis Arts, in conversation
with the artist. Further selections will be made by Linsey Young (Curator of
Contemporary British Art, Tate Britain) and artists Aaron Angell, Jeremy Deller
and Clifton Wright.
Studio Voltaire presents the first institutional exhibition of works by Irish
born artist John Sheehy. This first comprehensive survey of his work is
presented on a large鈥搒cale display system, allowing the presentation to change
and evolve throughout the show鈥檚 duration.
Sheehy, who lives and works in London, began painting at the age of 51. Over
the past 18 years he has produced a vast body of work that also includes
printmaking, ceramics and sculpture in addition to playwriting, poetry and
music. While in formal terms, his paintings range between portraits, landscapes
and the purely abstract, they often foreground personal or biographical
recollections, evoking the artist鈥檚 travels and his native Ireland.
Sheehy frequently returns to vernacular subjects that may appear folksy 鈥�
donkeys, sailing ships, closely terraced houses and chimney sweeps 鈥� but when
repeated across numerous works they become talismanic. Subjects may be rendered
again and again over a period of weeks or months, only to be set aside in favour
of a new focus. When viewed together, however, these series suggest Sheehy鈥檚
urgent need to capture or perhaps, expel these images.
The pace at which Sheehy produces work is extraordinary, and often is only
limited by the availability of materials to hand including canvas, paper, roof
tiles, window blinds and paving slabs. Even his largest paintings, some 10 by 20
feet in size, take less than an hour to complete. Sheehy has produced a
staggering collection consisting of thousands of images and words which he
considers as a single, total narrative.
Studio Voltaire presents several hundred works by Sheehy, many of which have
never been exhibited before, using a bespoke display system especially
commissioned from Simon Jones Studio to accommodate the many scales and mediums
of Sheehy鈥檚 practice. Only a fraction of Sheehy鈥檚 18 years鈥� practice will be on
show at any point in the show鈥檚 duration. The first selection is made by Studio
Voltaire鈥檚 Director Joe Scotland and Mark Amura of Crisis Arts, in conversation
with the artist. Further selections will be made by Linsey Young (Curator of
Contemporary British Art, Tate Britain) and artists Aaron Angell, Jeremy Deller
and Clifton Wright.
Artists on show
