Save the Date >> PIGSY Art Showcase /  by PIGSY

Save the date - Reserva la fecha!

PIGSY Art Residency Showcase

What: Art Exhibition of PIGSY

Where: La Casa Amarilla, Malaga

When: 24th May 2024 at 7pm (Provisionally)

PIGSY’s Art Residency in the studios of La Casa Amarilla Contemporary Art & Cultural Center will culminate in an art showcase of the artwork created while PIGSY was working in this residency.

The working title of the series of artworks that I will be creating while in residency in Spain is "Interlocked" which as a theme will consider the relationship between things that don't seem to be connected, and you can be the first to see these bold edgy expressionist art works (and what are very different from my usual works) which will be presented on the night of the exhibition.

Not only will you be the first to see these artworks, you may also be the last!!

Any of the artworks that are not sold on the night will be painted over in white the very next day and therefore will no longer be available to be viewed. Through the process of the repainting of the artworks in white, it is giving PIGSY a “clean slate” as he moves on from Malaga, Spain to another country to continue his art journey.

Artworks can also be snapped up through PIGSY’s instagram as they not only will be physically shown on the night in the La Casa Amarilla Gallery but will also be shown digitally on PIGSY’s instagram. Doing this means that the artworks can be viewed by not just everyone in the Malaga / Marbella area but also by everyone worldwide who has an interest in PIGSY and his artworks.

To read more about the Malaga art residency, click here and we hope to see you on the night!

Exhibition Visit: "Vino - Arte y Symbolo" at the Fundación Unicaja, Malaga /  by PIGSY

Fundación Unicaja Malaga Exhibition “Vino - Art and Symbol”

In conjunction with the Vivanco Museum of Wine Culture of Briones (La Rioja)

In Vino Veritas…..

I had seen that the last day of the “Vino, Arte y Symbolo” exhibition in the Fundación Unicaja, Malaga was on Sunday so I mentioned it to some friends who also wanted to visit and we made sure to get to the venue before closing at 2pm on that day.

I wanted to visit this exhibition for two reasons. The first being that the exhibition looked really interesting and had some modern art that I wanted to see (Warhol, Picasso and Lichenstein) along with art from early mesopatamian period up to current times. Additionally I was interested in seeing the building itself as it is very distinctive and decorative looking from the outside and is located centrally near the cathedral. It is a building of stature having been the bishop’s palace at one point in time.

It was a fascinating exhbition with the common theme of the representation of wine in art (what’s not to like about that!) however, the works that I was particularly interested in were the more modern artworks by Chagall, Warhol, Lichtenstein, Tápies, Juan Genovés, Picasso, Joaquín Sorolla, Juan Gris and Miquel Barceló.

Sunday Morning Museum Visit

As I mentioned it was the last day of the exhbiton so I felt lucky to have got to see it. It was a lovely activity to get up to on a Sunday morning, and we followed it with a coffee in the sun, for the four of us, in Recyclo Cafe in Plaza Enrique García Herrera.

After our visit to this art exhibition, we were served our coffees in very appropriate coffee cups with an art theme!

An artist has to eat.....and feed the soul! /  by PIGSY

Friday night fun in Malaga

Last Friday was fun with plans made to see the symphony at Teatro Cervantes in the centre of Malaga City.

Uvedoble Restaurant

However, before going to the orchestral performance we went for an early dinner in Uvedoble which is a small restaurant, located near the Roman ruins, that serves inventive modern Spanish tapas. It was my first time visiting this restaurant and I’ve been thinking of the food since I visited and will make sure to go back again! Of course the company always helps too and we were with a group of 5 and as well as sharing and tasting all of the plates we had good conversation over the tasty food and drinks.

Pictured is what was a particularly nice dish “Black Noodles and Squid”. It was presented beautifully and had a stunning look to it, along with a really unusual taste. I highly recommend ordering this dish if you visit Uvedoble on a visit to Malaga.

Philharmonic Orchestra of Malaga in Teatro Cervantes

And then after dinner it was on to Teatro Cervantes which is located on Calle Ramos Marín near to Plaza Uncibay. Teatro Cervantes is a beautiful old theater that was built in 1870 then restored in recent times after falling in to disrepair in the 1950’s and being used as a movie theatre. As well as being a very ornate building, the showstopper feature in the building is in the main auditorium which features “Allegory of the History, Industry and Trade of Málaga” which is a massive oil painting by artist Bernard Ferrándiz.

The symphony was performed by the Malaga Philharmonic Orchestra and was conducted by Mallorcan José María Moreno. The excellent soloist was Cello Player Senja Rummukainen of Finland.

All in all a brilliant night of food, conversation and music that definitely fed the body and soul!

Hanging Art - Measure twice, and measure again! /  by PIGSY

Hanging Art - there’s an art to it!

My background as an architect stands me in good steed as a professional artist and I will always remember what my mentor used to say to me as he handed me the tape measure as a junior architect “Measure twice and measure again”. It’s great advice and I use it all the time as an artist.

Hanging art is an important part of the artistic process and I like to take my time when I am hanging my art for art exhibitions or shows. I follow a particular formula when hanging art and have found it generally works well depending on the painting size or orientation..

In my professional opinion, and my golden rule for hanging a painting, is to position the centre of the painting between 155cm and 165cm off the floor.

Art in the home

The greatest honor is when one of my art collectors invites me in to their home to hang their PIGSY art. I love this process and I always enjoy engaging with them and selecting the best place and position for their new artwork.

This particular piece was created in Spain originally and then shipped to a large show in Ranelagh, Dublin and then shipped back to Spain to hang in a beautiful home in Malaga. The title of the painting is “My Parietal Marks” and you can read about it here.

The artwork pictured has the added dimension of augmented reality that can be looked at using the Artivive app which brings an extra level of enjoyment when viewing the artwork. You can click here to see this painting come to life on an instagram post when viewed with the Artivive app. You can also read further about Artivive here. I’ve only added augmented reality to certain PIGSY artworks but I do think it adds something special to works that have it and it makes it a big conversation piece when it is viewed in home settings during social occasions.

Job well done!

And after a successful art hang it was time for my lovely patron to crack open a gorgeous bottle of champagne to celebrate their new artwork. A lovely gesture and very much appreciated by the artist!!

Malaga time! /  by PIGSY

PIGSY is back in Malaga

…….and it’s so good to be back!

After being a few years in Ireland I have returned to Malaga to create art in the stunning space of the studios of La Casa Amarilla where I have an art residency. Sad as I was to leave what was the fantastic enclave of the Studios of Ranelagh Arts in Ireland, I was given a great opportunity to work and create art in Spain so I had to seize it.

Since the last time I was in Malaga, the gallery of La Casa Amarilla has moved to a new home on Calle Postigo de Arance with the original studios still on Calle Santos in the orginal building.

Directed by David Burbano and Roy Laguna, La Casa Amarilla is the coolest contemporary art gallery in Malaga city and with the new gallery space the energy and vibe of this art centre has doubled!

I arrived on Friday evening and was given the keys to my new art studio straightaway. Of course I was so excited to get started that I immediately visited the two best art supplies shops in the city on Saturday morning and stocked up on paint and canvas. It was all so exciting, but it also brought back great memories of my solo exhibition “I Went to Mass” which was held in this gallery back during the pandemic, which seems a lifetime ago. You can click here to see pics of this show.

Art Supplies

My first stop for art supplies in Malaga was Iberia Arts (located near the mercado) with my next stop being to call in to Francisco in Olimpia Arts (easily found steps away from Plaza de Unicibay). Iberia Arts has a great selection of spray paints along with other art supplies and you can easily while away an hour or two perusing all that they offer. For my canvas I tend to go to Olimpia Arts as they hand stretch and handmake their own canvas which I love - it’s very appealing to me to be painting on a canvas that was literally created in the same city - it makes a lot of sense!

However, given that I will be travelling between countries in the near future I bought rolls of canvas, on this occasion, rather than stretched canvas. I also plan on painting canvas that are a lot smaller than I have painted in the past in order to make it easier to move art from country to country. However, for the moment I am here, in Malaga, and engrossing myself in every opportunity that this art residency offers!

My third stop off for supplies was in the very cool “The Place” in Soho on Cordoba Street. This is a mixed store of a tattoo parlor, hair dressers, clothes store and graffiti supplies. I was looking for some specialized skinny spray caps and I found them here. Also to be found in Soho is Shepherd Fairey’s “Paz y Libertad” mural near the CAC which is definitely worth going to for a look.

Malaga Studio Showcase

As part of my art residency I will present a studio showcase of all of the work that I created while in residence in La Casa Amarilla. This is really exciting and it not only gives me a great goal to work to but I am also really happy to have the opportunity to have visitors to my studio to see my work. Keep an eye out on my social media for the date of this event, which is yet to be arranged.

In the meanwhile, and as always, I have an open door policy in all of my studios. So if you are in Malaga city and want drop in, get in touch with my through my website or instagram as I would love for you to see what I am working on.

And if you know of any art lovers visiting Malaga let them know about my studio too and tell them to drop in!

Custom PIGSY Leather Jacket /  by PIGSY

PIGSY Skull Style

Recently I was commissioned to paint a bespoke PIGSY on a leather jacket. This was a fun commission that I eagerly accepted.

As of late I am painting a particular skull which could be said has become a signature PIGSY skull.

Over the years I’ve painted some interesting things like a dinosuar head and pairs of Nikes (always love painting these) but this was the first time I have painted a leather jacket. For this piece of clothing I used a combination of spray paint and also Angelus leather paint.

Art Fashion Collision

As usual, and in typical PIGSY art style, I included text as well as images in the painting. Quite epic, don’t you think?!

After I had painted the jacket I took a few pictures of my “model” (my wife!) on the streets of Ranelagh wearing the jacket. She wandered from Ranelagh Arts Centre across to the Luas Station and back.

Looks pretty cool, kind of reminescent of a biker gang jacket with patches sewn on the leather. I think the owner of the newly created bespoke PIGSY fashion art piece will be very pleased with the final result and she can wear with pride!

PIGSY's "Squash Soldiers" /  by PIGSY

“Squash Soldiers” Artwork by PIGSY

Squash Soldiers is a large scale artwork that features the sport of Squash.

It was commissioned for the Show Court Area in Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club along with a smaller limited edition print. The print features signatures of all of the squash greats who have visited and played in this club.

The “Squash Soldiers” painting was also used as the branding for the Irish Squash Open in 2023 which was held in FLTC. It was a proud moment for me to see this artwork feature on the front door of the club to welcome world class squash players to this event (see below for images)

Printed Squash Soldiers mugs are also available and are proving to be popular with squash players from all over the world!

Squash Soldiers Mugs

A large order for Squash Soldiers printed mugs was received recently. This special order has now been fulfilled, packaged and is ready for delivery. Great to know that my Squash Soldiers mugs will be in the hands of squash players very soon and they can enjoy art in their daily life with this printed mug. One of the great things about this mug is that it is made from enamel so is perfect for using outdoors - really great for outdoorsy people who like camping, hiking or other outdoor persuits.

To find out more about “Squash Soldiers” you can watch the PIGSY feature video below

JoLT Literary Journal /  by PIGSY

Trinity’s “JoLT” Journal of Literary Translations

JoLT is Ireland’s only journal dedicated exclusively to transation.

The theme of the most recent edition of JoLT, was “Reflections” and it was a great honour for my artwork “Disintegrating Memories” to be selected for inclusion in the journal along with the great translated writings and other contemporary artworks.

Special mention goes to the editorial staff who included the following: Eohan Conway (Editor-in-Chief), Caroline Loughlin (Deputy Editor), Oonah Delargy (General Assistant Editor), Alex Payne (General Assistant Editor) and Lara Prideaux (Art Editor). Along with Language Editors Ilaria Lico, Ioana Raducu, Ailis Halligan, Nicole Battu, Eduardo Pincheiro, Michell Chan Schmidt, Sinéad Ní Cheallaigh and Layout & Design Editor Ayushman Kumar Yadev. A job well done by all!

Writers and Artist Contributers include Eduardo Torres, Giulia Nati, Naemi Victoria, Lara Prideaux, Seoirse Swanton, Aimilia Varla, Greta Chies, Ruairí Goodwin, Tomasz Balcerkiewicz, Helena Gelman, Theresa Wiesweg, Penny Stuart, PIGSY, Oiver Fisk, Adam Dunbar, Liam Frabetti, Hazel Scott, Sam Priego, Vicente Velasques, Alanh Kennedy, Aurora Ventoruzzo and Keith Payne.

JoLT is available on the Trinity College’s Dublin City Centre Campus or online as an Issuu publication - see the link to JoLT here.

“Disintegrating Memories”

The artwork “Disintegrating Memories” delves in to the theme of reflections and is available as a framed original artwork on the PIGSY website here. These paper studies can be hung individually or in a grouping to create a larger scale art work for your art collection.

Contact me for further information or check out the link here!

A visit to Dun Laoghaire Church /  by PIGSY

Dun Laoghaire visit

Dun Laoghaire is coastal town in the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown area that is easily access from Dublin City by the Dart Train Service. For me it was only a short train ride from Landsdowne Dart Station but there is also the option to take the bus (as the Bagatelle song goes!) from Dublin City including the 46A. Fold up bikes can be brought on the train so I brought my Brompton with me, which meant that I could cycle around Dun Laoghaire with ease and see lots of things on this visit.

My trip to Dun Laoghaire was in order to visit the modernist St Michaels Church to see the magnificent architecture and artistic stained glass along with other sculptural artworks in the church.

The original church in this town which dated back a few hundred years was burnt down at some time in the 1960’s with only the spire remaining. The current Church, designed by architects Naish O’Dowd, Sean Rothery and Pierce McKenna, was then built, in 1973, in the place of the old church with the spire still in existence.

Built of concrete, the church is a gloriously uplifting space with light wells that flood illuminated colour through the stained glass in to the inners of the church. Beautifully proportioned it does not dominate surroundings but nestles in to the space and in actuality gives a nod to the old with the original spire being a feature of the town.

It is a building of pure perfection with special details from the lighting which were made of dropped shuttered concrete squares, to the seating to the feature stone altar and baptism font. A building of its time, but also ageless, and will be used by all as long as people have the desire to congregate. The inhabitants of Dun Laoghaire are lucky to have such an awesome church building in their area.

I was in awe of the simplicity of the altar with the statue of Jesus suspended above it. Quite beautiful. And the cleverness of the stained glass windows alluding to a shape of a cross. Subtle symbolism in all its glory.

Deceiving in size, from the outside the building does not give away the generous proportions that are inside that give way to a calm serene space. I am a big fan of this type of design and it truly is a modern wonder of concrete architecture!

Dun Laoghaire Town

And after visiting the church there is lots more to see in the seaside town of Dun Laoghaire. You can wander around the planned to be pedestrianised town and then head down to the Lexicon Library, followed by a stroll on the pier. Or at the other end of the town you can visit the stunning Oratory which was hand painted in totality by one Dominican nun Sr. Concepta Lynch over many years. With all the sight seeing done, it might then be time to go get a bite to eat and for this I would recommend going to Casper & Giumbini’s for tasty food in a buzzy atmosphere - or keep it casual and eat some fish and chips on the pier while looking out to sea.

And afterwards no visit to Dun Laoghaire would be complete without a visit to the institution that is Teddy’s for an ice cream!!

"Sound & Vision" coming soon to Ranelagh! /  by PIGSY

“Sound & Vision” Art Exhibition

A Slow Lane Gallery presentation by Curator Dino Notaro

Where: Ranelagh Arts Centre

When: 1st March - 30th March 2024

Curator Dino Notaro of Dublin’s Slow Ane Gallery, brings together the work of a group of Dublin based multinational contemporary artists in this month long sensory exhibition that explores the theme of sound and vision.

Featured artists, selected by Dino, include:

PIGSY

Tim Bingham

Eraquaria

Patricia Kelly

Zane Sutra

Andie McGovern

Nickie Harrington

Frank O’Dea

Jacinta O’Reilly

Sarah Keegan

This is a not to be missed show in Ranelagh Arts that brings together and showcases edgy works of art, music and photography by a unique grouping of contemporary artists with a large PIGSY artwork taking centre stage.

The PIGSY artwork that I will be showing is called “X I can See” which I created while artist in residence in Ranelagh Arts.It’s a large scale piece painted on board and is a multilayered provative art work with subtle and subliminal messaging. It’s great to show this artwork along with other contemporary art in this showcase that has been orchestrated by curator Dino Notaro.

Also on the opening night there will be a choir performance which brings together the sound element of the show. All in all a great night of entertainment so make sure you mark the date in your diary and see you there!!

Opening Night!

“Sound & Vision” opening on a very snowy day on the first day of Spring, here in Dublin. Who would have thought that we would have heavy snow on the 1st of March??!!

Anyway, not withstanding, the dire weather the opening was absolutely brilliant with a large crowd in attendance and with the exhibition open for a further month, there will be plenty of other visitors over the next while.

Here’s a few pics from opening night, and if you didn’t get in then, make sure you visit during the next few weeks!

“Sound”

There will be a rotation of artworks with new pieces going on display every week, while the “Sound” theme continues through the exhibition with a performance by the Dublin LGBT+ Casual Choir on Friday the 8th of March at 6pm in Ranelagh Arts. All welcome.