"Dyslexia Quando Arte", Digital Exhibition

Dyslexia Quando Arte

PIGSY artwork will be presented in Brazil by Domlexia as part of the “Dyslexia Quande Arte” digital exhibition which brings together the work of dyslexic artists from all over the world.

See below for an article in the Brazilian Media which outlines all about the art exhibtion, the artists and the artistic disciplines. It is a very unique exhibition as it brings together artists from all over the world who are dyslexic.

As part of the activities relating to World Dyslexia Day Day (October 10), the 3rd Digital Exhibition Dyslexia Quando Arte opens on the 8th of Oct, at 18:00 in O Sítio in Lagoa da Conceição, in Florianópolis on.the Domlexia platform,

This year, in addition to the works and information about the authors posted on Instagram, there will be face-to-face activities, such as a guided tour of the virtual gallery – a novelty that will provide an immersive experience – and chat with exhibitors and organizers.

A total of 23 artists from Brazil and, for the first time, from abroad (Canada, United States, England, Ireland and Venezuela) will present works of architecture, urban art, visual arts, cinema, dance, design, photography, gastronomy, illustration, literature, fashion, music, poetry and theatre.

Find out more about the artist and follow on instagram by clicking the links here. They are: Anderson Leme (German), Angélica Castro Neuhaus, Bravo Polar, Bruna Fracascio, Elizabeth Arifien & Charlotte Edmonds, Guilherme Villa, Julien Villeneuve, Lese Pierre, Luciene Kumm, Maramgoní, Mari Murial, Marina Miyazaki, Mi Pereira (Agaizer), Monica Mendes, Nathalia Goulart, Paula Gotelip, Pigsy, Roseni Kurányi, Tiago Campos, Tiago Vinícios, Tom McLaughlin, Vania Cáus and Wós Rodrigues

The production is by Nadine Heisler and Antonio Bandeira, with curatorial texts by Oscar D'Ambrosio and translation by Karen Wassmer.

The presentation event will also take place in São Paulo, at Unibes Cultural, in November, and in new locations in 2023.

Virtual Exhibition

The Domlexia Virtual Gallery is available here where you can click on the artworks and videos to see more information.

LCA Homiés Pop Art Exhibition

LCA Homiés Pop Art Exhibition in Marbella

Homiés Marbella Art House

What: Presenting the LCA Homiés Pop Art Exhibition

When: 1st of June 2022 to 30 Sept 2022

Where: Homiés Marbella Art House Gallery, Calle Ribera, Local 12, Puerto Banus, Marbella, Spain

Opening Ceremony

Wednesday 1st of June 2022 at 7pm

Homiés Marbella

On June 1 HOMIÉS ART HOUSE opens in the heart of Puerto Banus with Homiés Marbella and La Casa Amarilla Malaga joining forces to merge fashion and art in an incredible space in Marbella.

El 1 de junio se abre HOMIÉS ART HOUSE en pleno corazón de Puerto Banus Homiés Marbella y La Casa Amarilla Malaga se alían para fusionar dos pensamientos: moda urbana y arte en un espacio increíble en Marbella.

“I’ve Given Enough”

My artwork “I’ve Given Enough” has been selected for this pop art exhibition in Marbella.

It’s an intensely vibrant piece of pop art that was created when I was resident artist in the studios of La Casa Amarilla Gallery in Malaga. The art work is an enquiry in to the Spanish tradition of bullfighting and I’ve armed the bull with a gun in his mouth in order to make the fight equal. See the video below which takes an indepth look at “I’ve Given Enough”.

Do call in to Homiés Marbella on Calle Ribera in Puerto Banus to see this art work……..and tell them that PIGSY sent you!

Video Series: Focus on PIGSY Art

PIGSY Art Showcase - Video Series

My Digital Marketing Manager, Enid Bebbington, has started a new PIGSY project. It’s a video series that will focus on some of my artworks. The first video of the series is now live and you can watch it here.

PIGSY Art Video Series

The video series is filmed in Ireland and will broadcast weekly on the Ciaran McCoy Youtube channel.

In this week’s episode the three paintings that are showcased are:

• The Extra-Ordinary Crucified for You

• Non-Serviam

• Mo Laoch (My Hero)

These paintings were all presented at the Saatchi London Art Fair, with “The Extra-Ordinary Crucified for You” and “Mo Laoch” available as a print.

Click here to see the next PIGSY Art Focus video in this new series.

Irish Squash Open 2022 in Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club

Irish Squash Open 2022

Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club

April 16th - April 23rd 2022

No need to adjust your set!! This is still the PIGSY Art Blog. But humor me for a little bit while I digress and write about squash - but there is a reason for the digression…….my art work is featured on the promotional material for this event!

Irish Squash Open 2022

After 2 years the Irish Squash Open 2022 returns in association with Gillen Markets, for a bigger and better tournament.. The prize money has increased to $60,000 combined, for both draws. The top seeds are Emily Withlock of Wales, World Ranked Number 18 & Patrick Rooney of England, World Ranked Number 25, with 18 top 50 players in the world, among the entries in both draws.

There are 4 home players in the Open, Breanne Flynn, Hannah McGugan, Sam Buckley & Sean Conroy, all play on Tuesday.

Breanne Flynn plays Chan Yiwen of Malaysia at 4.30pm on Court 1
Hannah McGugan plays Julianne Courtice at 12 noon on Court 2
Sam Buckley plays Henry Leung at 3.30pm on Court 1
Sean Conroy plays Mahesh Mangaonkar at 5.15pm on Court 1

All matches from Court 1 will be live streamed on Irish Squash TV from Tuesday & Wednesday. PSA Live will broadcast from the quarter finals on Thursday to the finals on Saturday.

Or if you want to watch the squash live, and in person, you can visit Fitzwilliam to enjoy some top quality squash from some of the best players in the world!

Irish Squash Open 2022 poster artwork by PIGSY - see below for details (and less squash talk and more art ramblings!)

Irish Squash Open 2022 poster features PIGSY’s “Squash Soldiers”

As a squash player and lover of the game, I am really proud to have my artwork used for the poster advertising the Irish Squash Open 2022. The painting featured on the poster is “Squash Soldiers” which is a large scale artwork that is on public view in Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club and you can read full details of “Squash Soldiers” here.

Here’s a fun fact about the painting that you might enjoy if you are a squash player! If you look at the painting, you will see faces in the crowd watching a squash game.

Well, guess how I created these “faces in the crowd”?!

So of course I used the frame of a squash racquet as a stencil!

There’s always double meanings (if not even triple meanings) in my paintings. And of course as an artist with dyslexia, my paintings can be described as chaotic (a bit like my squash playing!) or “dyslexic”, with words and text written in a haphazard manner or crossed out. To understand how I paint, you must know that I am continually battling against my “dyslexic brain” and I do this by firstly always starting out with a methodical planning of an artwork to ensure a cohesive finish to it and additionally I base all of my paintings on mathematical equations. This mathematical basis means that although I paint in a loose and fluid manner my marks are always deliberate, and when the painting is finished it has a rigidity and structure, subtle as it is, that can be read or picked up on by the viewer.

More images and information about this large scale artwork can be read on the PIGSY blog or contact me for details (click the above link if you want to see images of the completed piece).

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PIGSY Art Video

Watch below to see the “Focus on Art” video featuring Squash Soldiers by PIGSY.

"Gloria" featuring PIGSY: A Slow Lane Gallery and Shoeless Foot Productions Collaboration

“Gloria”

PIGSY'S STUDIO

A Slow Lane Gallery Exhibition in collaboration with Shoeless Foot Productions..

Curated by Dino Notaro

Dino Notaro presents “Gloria”

Gloria is a group show looking at the works of three featured artists with an online exhibition divided into segments.

Segment 1 features a look behind the scenes at me (PIGSY) in my studio.

Just before Christmas 2021 Curator Dino Notaro and Videographer Will Duffy visited me in my studio in Dublin. This is a short video of this visit which is an unfiltered behind the scenes look at how I create my work along with me talking about some of the pieces.

You can see more videos by Shoeless Foot Productions on Youtube here. and also Slow Lane Gallery too.

I also wrote a blog and shared photos of the Studio Visit by Dino and Will which you can read about on a past blog.

My studio is currently open for visitors so do contact me if you want to visit!

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"I Went to Mass" - PIGSY Solo Exhibition in La Casa Amarilla, Spain

“I Went to Mass” by PIGSY

PIGSY Solo Art Exhibition

La Casa Amarilla Galerie, Calle Santos, Malaga

Date: 27 March until 20 April

Sponsored by San Miguel Beer

PIGSY Spanish Art Exhibition Opening

Photos below are of the opening of the PIGSY solo art show “I Went to Mass” in La Casa Amarilla Gallery on Santos Street in Malaga, Spain, on Saturday 27th of March. The exhibition is running until an extended date of April 20th.

For opening hours and contact details for the LCA gallery, see here.

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For more great pics, see here on Facebook

A focus on 3 works by PIGSY

“Non-Serviam”

Size: 1500mm W x 1500mm H Mixed Media on Canvas

This piece deals with the contradiction between the refusal to adhere to society’s rules and the loneliness and helplessness that are a result of this refusal. “Non-Serviam” (I Will Not Serve) is a bold statement of non-compliance and self sufficiency but looking deeper into the piece there is a call for help and the need for a guardian angel to save the artist. With the knowledge that almost every main character in Pigsy’s art is a self-portrait, there is the suggestion that the guardian angel required is his art and there exists a hope of self-salvation through it. Another clear indicator of the confusion caused by this paradox is the use of the word Malaika (an Islamic word for angel) on the angel’s chest, spelled wrong as Malaka (a Greek term for wanker).

“Mo Laoch” (My Hero)

Size: 1500mm W x 1500mm H Mixed Media on Canvas

It is a rarity that a character in a Pigsy piece is not a version of the artist himself but in this piece the figure is that of famous Irish writer James Joyce. The inspiration for this painting came after watching a documentary on Joyce and the realised connection between him and the artist's uncle, also James, whom he never met but who's house he now owns. Was Joyce talking about people like James in his celebrated novel Dubliners.

Could he have been a role model and mentor for Pigsy for he was also a poet and artist. The title "Mo Laoch" is Irish for "My Hero", a reference to the actual feeling for Joyce and the potentially stronger feeling for his uncle that, alas, never existed. Note that Joyce holds the red spelling book, Pigsy's nemesis, an item depicted in many of his works to signify his struggle with dyslexia.

“Cyberpunks”

Size: 1500mm W x 1500mm H Mixed Media on Canvas

“Cyberpunks” is Pigsy’s take on the movement formed in 1990, the beginning of the deep web and a decentralising power of the banks. The crossed out 72 is both a cry for admittance and a confusion that the artist’s year of birth predates the aforementioned formation- “I was a cyberpunk before it even started, let me in”. Note the signature in the painting in the top right is Pigsy in binary.

PIGSY welcomes visitors to his Malaga Studio

Visit artist PIGSY in La Casa Amarilla

PIGSY Spanish art studio is located on Calle Santos in the centre of Malaga City close to Calle Larios

Since August 2020, Irish Artist PIGSY has been working full time as a professional artist in Malaga and is a resident in La Casa Amarilla Gallery. Pigsy’s studio is on the second floor of La Casa Amarilla which is a popular gallery in Malaga City Centre directed by David Burbano. The gallery is home to different sized art studios and hosts artists of various disciplines within. La Casa Amarilla is on Calle Santos a quiet street very near to Calle Larios and faces on to Cafe Aranda where you can stop off for a coffee and a churro after a visit to the studio. The cafe has been serving up churros since 1932 to the people of Malaga and visitors to this pleasant city!

Calle Larios, Malaga

The studio is a short walk from Calle Larios the main thoroughfare in Malaga Centro. Larios Street is a stunningly beautiful pedestrianised shopping street lined with attractive architectural buildings that at time will have you looking up rather than looking in the the shops! Most of the city is very walkable due to the pedestrianisation and also because of the size of the city which is very manageable for most to get about either walking or cycling - or you can rent an electric scooter too. The public bus is reliable and regular and can take you beyond the city if you wish to visit some of the small fishing villages along the coast (Pedregaleo is a must see), some of which are now home to chilled out fashionable, somewhat hipster, restaurants and cafes.

Art in Malaga

Pablo Picasso

Malaga has a rich art history with it of course being the birthplace of Pablo Picasso. Today artists and art lovers alike flock to the city to visit the two Picasso museums - one based in the house he was born in and the other in the house he grew up in. For details of the Pablo Picasso Museum see here

Museo Carmen Thyssen Malaga

Along with this there are numerous other museums with the Carmen Thyssen in the centre of the city (steps away from PIGSY’s studio) showcasing a massive collection consisting of classic Spanish artists including artists, such as Mariano Fortuny, Joaquín Sorolla, Darío de Regoyos, Julio Romero de Torres and Ignacio Zuloaga.

The Carmen Thyssen Museum has a really nice cafe and gift store. The cafe does a really good cup of coffee (cortado) and there is a good deal for breakfast of a mixto, coffee and a glass of juice for about 3 euro.

See here for the Museo Carmen Thyssen website.

Pompideau Malaga

The Pomipou Centre also has a museum here in Malaga (the first Pomidou Centre outside of France). The Pompidou Centre is located down by the port can only be described as a jewel in the crown of the marina and in fact it looks like a jewellery box being a cube colored building designed by Architect Renzo Piano sparkling in the sun and inviting visitors in to an amazing collection of artwork including Joan Miro, Dali and you guessed it some Picasso too!

There are lots of nice restaurants situated down by the marina close to the Pompideau Centre Malaga so you can make a whole half day of your visit to the museum and a lunch by the marina along with maybe a walk down to the lighthouse.

Click here for further information about the Pompideau Malaga - it’s free in after 5pm on Sundays.

Museo Jorge Rando

The Museo Jorge Rando reopened in Oct/Sept 2020 after renovations. It is located in an area that is a short walk from Uncibay Plaza is definitely worth seeing for both it’s extensive Rando collection and also the architecture of the museum with a spectacular corten clad courtyard out to the back of the building.

I visited the Museo Jorge Rando in October 2020 after it had reopened after renovations.

Malaga Studio Visit - Contact Enid

Contact Enid on pigsy.art@gmail.com if you are in the Malaga region and would like to meet PIGSY and take a tour of his studio and also visit La Casa Amarilla Art Gallery on Calle Santos, Malaga. PIGSY always enjoys visitors to his studio and will chat to you all about his latest work and what he is currently being inspired by.

Enid is also happy to give restaurant or cafe recommendations if you are interested in spending time in Malaga and want to relax over a glass of wine and some tapas after visiting the studio!

About PIGSY

About expressionist Irish artist PIGSY

Irish Artist PIGSY

Born on the North Side of Dublin in Ireland, Ciarán McCoy is an Irish Artist and award winning architect (ODKM Architects). He borrows from his architectural knowledge to create his diverse expressionist art work as his alter ego “PIGSY”.

The mediums that Pigsy uses range vastly from everyday household acrylic paint, chalk, oil sticks,  acrylic sticks, oil paint, spray paint, charcoal  and any other medium that feels right at the time of painting. McCoy explains “I like the looseness of my paintings I don't really want to put boundaries on myself or to be neat and proper. That's my architectural life. I like to be able to express myself freely in a fast free-flowing loose way - I really like the imperfection of the process”.

Honesty & Emotion in Art

"Many of my paintings are self portraits or semi-biographical, I paint about the things going on in my head at the time of painting. People have said to me that the paintings are angry but I don't think they're angry, I'm just expressing the frustrations of someone who lives with dyslexia. Words frustrate me and fascinate me at the same time. I sometimes don't understand  the sounds of the letters, what they mean and why they don't do what they are supposed to do. Because of this I like to draw quick and loose as opposed to when I’m designing a building and it needs to be more rigid and consistent. I've also taken from street artists who have to paint fast.  I think if you're drawing fast there's an honesty to it because there is no manipulation and overthinking, it's just straight from your head onto the canvas. I love the no phoney approach to that".  

Mindset

This spontaneous approach takes away all inhibitions. "I deliberately don’t correct words that have been misspelled and I sometimes break them apart to emphasize what can be going on in my head”. He also splashes and spills paint loosely over the canvas which keeps the honest approach "for a long time I covered up the writing completely, so as to not expose myself too much to the outside world but as I got older I've stopped doing that.  I'm happy where my art is, at the moment, and  I feel that it's totally me. It's a take it or  leave it approach, I have now." 

Art vs. Architecture

“Art is a way of expressing  myself and it’s a nice break from the normal day-to-day work  routine of an architect. The creative process between art and architecture are very different disciplines. With architecture I have specific briefs and goals that I aim to achieve. With art there are no boundaries, I just express what's in my mind at the time that I am working, and in all honesty, I'm trying to get the thoughts out of my mind and on to the canvas.  I see it as a healthy process. Work and life can be stressful at times and I find going to my studio and throwing a large piece of canvas on the ground and painting helps me release all those stresses in a creative and positive way”.

Creative Process

“My technique normally involves a free flowing start to each piece as I set out the scene for the broader context of the work, followed by a slower, drawn out finish as I immerse myself into the painting and endeavor to elicit an answer to the conundrums that I face and to dig myself out of the holes that I've created for myself in my mind and subconscious”

Influences

PIGSY is influenced by artists, musicians, writers and other figures in popular culture. He sites being influenced by artists such as Cy Twombly, Purvis Young, Hawkins Bolden, Karel Appel, Jean Michel Basquiat along with enjoying the work of David Lynch, David Byrne and poet Seamus Heaney (see here for more) and writer Hunter S. Thompson. Musical influences include 1980’s old school Hip Hop along with musicians like Talking Heads, Future Islands, Elvis Presley and currently Fontaines D.C. and The Felice Brothers.

Ranelagh Art Studio

For the past 10 years, PIGSY has been working in his Ranelagh studio in his award winning architecturally significant house in Dublin, Ireland. His art studio is at the top of the house on the third floor and is filled with light streaming from four window lights that flood the birch ply wood clad room that has a glass floor (which he covered in a plastic coating to protect it from the paint!). It’s a light and airy space - the perfect place to create art.

PIGSY in Malaga, Spain

As of August 2020, PIGSY is based in Malaga, Spain with full focus on the creation of art. He has taken a sabbatical from his architectural practice and has embarked, with his wife and dog, on an uncharted year in Spain inspired by all of the artists and creatives that have gravitated to this part of the world before him. He is excited about the adventure ahead of him, where he will fully immerse himself as PIGSY - as a full time artist he knows that he is entering in to an immensely creative period of his life!

PIGSY Store

Click here to visit the PIGSY store to buy PIGSY art.

Valentines Presents - it's time to make plans for what you will gift to the one you love!

Valentine’s Day 2021

With Christmas behind us and many people world over currently in lockdown while we wait for mass vaccination to protect us from Covid, Valentine’s Day gives us something to plan and look forward to. Although it tends to be marketed towards people who are in relationships, I prefer to see it as a day to spread love all around. Last year my wife, set up a bowl of heart shaped candy chocolates in her workplace for all to enjoy and this is the type of small thing that I think should be encouraged so we can all partake in this celebratory day. Particularly given the past year I think it is important to let those we love know how much we care for them. Small token gifts (or a piece of heart shaped candy!) can do that.

With the above in mind, I am highlighting some small art gifts that would make perfect Valentine’s presents for those you love and care about. Or it might also be something nice for employers to send to their staff that are working from home as a small token to show they are thinking of them! Small things like this will help us get through this tough time and will also let us know that there are brighter days ahead. 2021 should be the year that we are kind to ourselves and also to those around us that we care about.

A little heads up, postal delivery delays are currently ongoing due to covid, so if you are going to go beyond the traditional flowers, chocolates and wine route (which are always nice!) for Valentine’s Day, it’s time to think about gifts now and order well in advance.

Special Valentine’s Edition PIGSY Art Mug

Featuring original artwork “The Kiss” printed on a funky enamel art mug

This special edition mug for Valentines Day 2021 is printed with an original artwork by PIGSY titled “The Kiss”. The original art piece sold as part of PIGSY’s solo art exhibition “I Find You Fascinating” but you can now enjoy this art work in your home as it is now available for a short time early in 2021.

The art mug is hard wearing and ideal for use outdoors when meeting up in a physically distanced manner with friends or neighbors. It’s a neat size for packing in backpacks when our on the trail and it helps enjoy the perfect size coffee - not to big or small. Of course it always helps if you add a little drop of Irish Cream liquor to your coffee too - which some of past buyers of PIGSY mugs have been doing (see pic here)..

Along with “The Kiss” there are other art mugs available, including cups featuring “Cyberpunks”, “It’s a Jungle Out There” and “Captain Outrageous vs. Frisbee King”. See the PIGSY store for more - and start building your collection of PIGSY mugs today!

Tote Bags - available with two art prints

PIGSY art prints are available on totes in two different colors. “It’s a Jungle Out There” is available on the light straw colored bag with “Bright Light” being featured on the black tote bag. “It’s a Jungle Out There” is an artwork that was sold as part of PIGSY’s solo art exhibition “I Find You Fascinating” while the original art piece “Bright Light” was part of the “Nostalgia” solo art exhibition.

The tote bags are in two different sizes (see here) and are ideal for using on trips to the grocery store or the library.. Handy and convenient, using a tote bag means that you can cut down on your use of plastic bags if this is one of your goals for the new year. The art tote bag by PIGSY is a perfect Valentine’s gift - particularly if you add a fancy box of chocolates in to the bag, or even better a piece of jewelry!!! Who wouldn’t love to receive that?!

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iPhone Cover - phone case printed with PIGSY artwork

The final suggestion for a Valentine’s gift this year, is a phone cover which as we all know is really useful (particularly if you have learnt this the hard way after dropping a phone with no cover). The PIGSY iPhone cover is an attractive phone case that is printed with the art work titled “Duval Flag”. It is bright and attractive and along with making an art statement, it most importantly protects your valuable phone while also holding a piece of PIGSY art in your hand! You can see full details about it here.

“Duval Flag” original artwork was created while PIGSY was in Key West, Florida and you can see the influences of this place in the artwork. The original art is now in private collection in Florida, USA.but you can now enjoy this artwork in your day to day life with a phone cover that you will have on your phone at all times.

Show you care with art - the ideal gift for Valentine’s Day 2021

Given the year that is in it, a gift of a face mask to your loved one is a way of showing you care. There two face masks in the PIGSY range and they are fun and funky and really vibrant. And although we are all probably sick of wearing masks, these masks printed with art are really uplifting for the soul given their bright rich color and the thought and themes of the art itself. Why were a boring white surgical mask when you can wear a thing of beauty and show art to the world when out and about in a face mask.

Beyond the traditional!

If you are thinking of going big and beyond the traditional token gifts this year for Valentine’s Day you may be considering an original art work or a limited edition print as a really special gift. Art is always appreciated and it is something that will give enjoyment for years to come. If this is something you are considering, get in touch with me and we can have a chat about PIGSY art and discuss your thoughts on an extra special Valentine’s Gift. But don’t delay - as I mentioned, there are postal delays worldwide and shipping is slow from Spain.

Big love for art

Check out this recently sold piece - the reaction of the collector is awesome!