John Byrne (Irish artist)

John Byrne (born November 1959) is an Irish artist born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, now living and working in Dublin.

John Byrne
BornNovember 1959
Belfast, Northern Ireland
NationalityBritish, Irish
EducationBelfast School of Art
Websitehttp://www.john-byrne.ie/

Early life

Byrne was born in Belfast in November 1959.[1]

Byrne received his degree from the Belfast School of Art in Belfast. After graduation he began practicing as a performance artist while attending the Slade School of Art in London in the mid-1980s.

Career
Misneach by John Byrne

The work examines ideas around patriotism and nationalism.[2]

In 2004 Byrne produced a large public artwork Dublin's Last Supper which was commissioned by building developer Mick Wallace (M&J Wallace Ltd) in central Dublin. It is a 9 metre by 2 metre photo screen-print on steel panels featuring 13 people encountered on the streets of Dublin in the form of an interpretation of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece. The work was meant to be reflective of a changing society and the growing cultural mix in Dublin.[3][4][5]

In June 2005 his video Believers premiered at the Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, Cork. In this work Byrne is the central protagonist.[6]

Misneach was a major permanent sculptural work commissioned as part of Breaking Ground's Public Art programme. This monumental bronze sculpture of horse and rider is rendered in a style typical of the European tradition of portraying generals or heads of state. The horse is a copy of the Gough Memorial originally sited in the Phoenix Park which was blown up in 1957. The rider is modeled on a teenage girl native of Ballymun. The completed monument was mounted on a plinth and unveiled in September 2010.

In August 2010 he presented Casting Light a video projection mapped onto the façade of a bank in Cavan which was showcased during the Fleadh Cheoil. This included a segment where the bank appeared as a giant fruit machine. An updated version featured in 2012. Byrne is working on a number of commissions including a per cent for art work for the Loreto School in Balbriggan and a new collaborative work with The Palestrina Choir entitled Good Works commissioned through Create.

See also

Artists from Northern Ireland

References
  1. "Visual Arts: John Byrne". aosdana.artscouncil.ie. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  2. "John Byrne: Would You Die for Ireland?". Irish Museum of Modern Art website. Archived from the original on 14 August 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
  3. John Byrne. "John Byrne Artist". John Byrne website. Archived from the original on 7 December 2004. Retrieved 21 July 2007.
  4. "Dublin's Last Supper: A new artwork by John Byrne". Circa Art Magazine. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
  5. "Dublin's Last Supper". PublicArt.ie. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  6. "John Byrne - From a South Facing Family". Fenton Gallery review. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 22 July 2007.
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