Meet the Artists of Ranelagh Arts Summer Exhibition
As I wrote in my previous blog, I was selected to be part of the RA Summer Exhibition. It’s been a great experience, with my artwork selling shortly after the exhibition opened, along with getting to meet lots of new artist friends through this recently re-opened cultural center in their new prime location on Ranelagh main street just across from the Luas station.
In addition to the Summer Exhibition, another thing that Ranelagh Arts are doing is they are profiling and featuring all of the artists on their social media. I was glad to be in the first batch of “profiled artists” and you can read the bio/profile below.
"PIGSY" is Ciarán McCoy. Ciarán McCoy is "PIGSY"
Artist PIGSY at work in his Art Studio in Dublin, Ireland
Ciarán McCoy, as an architect was the founding Partner of ODKM Architects in Dublin City. As an artist, he creates artworks as his alter ego PIGSY, which defines a clear separation between his being an architect and an artist. As PIGSY, he borrows from his architectural knowledge and other life experiences to create his diverse punk expressionist art works.
Spontaneous approach to art
PIGSY's works include paintings and sculptures that are created using a wide range of mediums such as everyday household acrylic paint, chalk, oil sticks, acrylic sticks, oil paint, spray paint, charcoal, pencil, crayon and any other medium that feels right at the time of creating the works, including studio detritus. Many of his artworks are self-portraits or semi-biographical in theme, and express the frustrations of someone who lives with dyslexia. His obsession with words both frustrate and fascinate him, while at the same time are a constant theme from inception to completion of many of his artworks. His process tends to be a very quick start in a high paced manner which evolves and then terminates in a deeply considered emotion. The paintings and sculptures are a personal opening of the inner workings of a chaotic dyslexic mind that is in a battle to calm and organise itself. The quick and loose stye is the polar opposite to the rigid disciplined learnt practice of architecture. This spontaneous approach takes away all inhibitions and allows a non-inhibited honesty that rings true in his work.
Art Residency & Exhibitions
Artist PIGSY pictured with his wife Enid Bebbington at the opening night of his exhibtion “Catharsis of Collapse” in Kenmare Butter Market Gallery, Kenmare, Kerry, Ireland
McCoy is a qualified draughtsman, Architectural Technician, Architect and is listed on the RIAI Register of Architects. PIGSY is a member of several international art organisations aswell as Visual Artists Ireland. He completed a year’s residency in La Casa Amarilla Gallery in Malaga Spain in 2021, and has works on display in galleries in Spain, Ireland & USA. He recently exhibited in the Kenmare Butter Market where he showed large scale works that he created in Spain. Currently PIGSY works from his Dublin City Centre studio.
Artist with dyslexia
PIGSY is a champion for people with dyslexia and publicly speaks about the subject along with being featured in filmmaker Mike Andrew's 2018 short film "PIGSY" which tells about his life as an artist with dyslexia.
PIGSY Links
PIGSY’s Instagram - lots of great pics of my PIGSY art and what I get up to daily
PIGSY Film by Mike Andrews - Youtube link - feel free to share!