Goodbye 2021, Hello 2022!

Happy New Year from Ireland!

There’s an Irish tradition at midnight to open all of the doors and the windows to let out the old year and bring in the new year. Last night as the clock struck midnight, I stepped out the front door (thereby letting the old year away) and stood on the pathway with my wife Enid listening to fireworks go off all over the city. Of course as the clock strikes 12 you can’t help but think of the year just gone and what lies ahead in the new year.

For me, I have great plans and goals for my art career which I am always setting and updating as time goes on. Every year at this time I also look back at the year past and write a blog about the highlights. 2021 was a great year for me professionally, and in other aspects of my life, and I am hopeful that 2022 will be even better.

2021 in Spain

We were living in Spain up until July and of which I will always look back at fondly. The year I spent in Malaga was a year of great growth for me, artistically and personally and I know it will give me direction for years to come. The return to Ireland in the latter half of the year was exciting and there is so many opportunities for me here and beyond these shores also. It is all happening and I believe 2022 will be a big year for PIGSY!

In no particular order, here’s some highlights from the year past:

Continuing with learning to speak Spanish, I feel like I am gradually improving and this is the year that I can get by socially in the Spanish language
Committing to be car free. I didn’t need a car in Malaga and when I returned to Ireland I did not go back to being a car owner, instead I rent a van when need to move art or use Go Car Club also when needed. Other than that it is the bike or public transport to get around. It works!
Malaga Art Exhibition - my first solo exhibition of 2021 was in La Casa Amarilla in Malaga, Spain in March (Click here for pics)
Featured in The Gloss Magazine - thanks for the profile Penny McCormick
Group Exhibition on the streets of Malaga “Estival” - this was impressive and very exciting to see my art in front of the the Alcazaba
Commissioned to create a custom pair of Nikes - what a fun commission!!
PIGSY is name checked in an exhibit in The Russian Museum in Malaga
Beer sponsorships! San Miguel Cerveza sponsored me for my Malaga exhibition while Kerry Beer Company Torc Brewing sponsored my Kenmare exhibition.
We move back to Ireland and get to live in The Liberties for a while before we move back to Ranelagh. The Liberties is “old Dublin” and it was a great experience to live in Inner City Dublin after living in the centre of Malaga city. There are definite similarities but they are also worlds apart too!
Irish Homes and Interiors featured me in a massive “Homecoming” article along with numerous images of some of the art work I created in Spain
Set up an Art Studio in White Swan Business Park in Dublin 8. The light is great, the space is incredible, there is huge opportunity for it.
Solo PIGSY Art Exhibition in Kenmare Butter Market - this is is an incredible new venue and I was honoured to be the first artist to present a solo show here. The opening was brilliant with a memorable speech given by Poet Tim Buckley
Honoured to have artwork hung in Sheen Falls Hotel
Live painted on the streets of Kenmare, County Kerry for Culture Night 2021
My “Catharsis of Collapse” exhibition was selected for critique by Visual Artists of Ireland
One of my art works “De Facto Leader” was featured in the literary journal An Capall Dorcha (available in the MOLI Museum of Literature of Ireland)
PIGSY film screened by Irish Libraries for European Dyslexia Week
Selected by author Tony Bryant to be profiled in his new book…….watch this space for publication in 2022!
I was gladly invited to be part of the “Pina de las Tentaciones” group exhibition in La Casa Amarilla
New representation - Signed with a USA Gallery - PIGSY art work is now available in Effusion Gallery on Duval Street, Key West
The PIGSY Art Showcase in Effusion Gallery featured in the Key West Press
PIGSY Short Film screened in The Devlin Movie Theatre as past of The Ranelagh Arts Festival
Part of the “Gloria” Group Exhibition curated by Dino Notaro in Slow Lane Gallery which showcases artists in their studies which brings the viewers in to the studios while we are currently going through different restrictions regarding meeting and visiting spaces
Welcomed visitors from all over to my studio. Great to be able to chat to so many people about my art and to show them my process and output.
A series of PIGSY paper studies was selected to be in new Dublin Restaurant “Library St.”
Had a wonderfully quiet Christmas 2021
Sold lots of work and was busy shipping work to different places all over the world including USA, Hungary and Singapore!
Made so many great friends through my art events and also of course my time in Malaga - it was sad to leave them all, but I know we will meet again.

2021 - A great year, all things considered!

It’s always great to look back at all of the achievements of the year past and I always enjoy writing this annual blog (if you read back through my blog) you will find past years) and its a good record of all of the things that went on through the year that gives me happiness and also hope for the year ahead. Taking a pause at the end of one year and reflecting on the past makes sure that you don’t go hurtling from one year to the next without taking stock of all you have achieved. It also helps with goal setting for the year ahead which is very important as an artist who mainly works in a solo isolated setting. However from looking at the list above I can see all of the collaborative work that I did and this is of great importance to me. I value other artists and creatives so much and I believe that we are stronger when we work together.