Brian Maguire, Inside / Out

Brian Maguire, Inside/Out, Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, 2000

A fiercely expressive painter, Maguire’s principal topics have always been sexual and political alienation. He has consistently brought his caustic wit and savage indignation to bear on the indignities inflicted on the oppressed individual.

Inside / Out is a ten-year survey of Brian Maguire's working process and output. The critic Donald Kuspit has described Maguire's 'gesturalism' as 'one of the most non-compliant in the history of expressionism'.

He has been publicly exhibiting since 1981. He was involved in the student revolution led by Paddy Gillan to modernise outmoded teaching practices. This artist's socio-political commentary on the imbalances in society, isolation and separation, continue in the vein of Munch and Bacon before him. His deeply felt social and political commitments have led to lengthy periods as artist-in-residence in many of Ireland's prisons.

The resulting work has often taken the form of portraiture although in recent times his chosen media have included video, photography and billboard posters as well as drawing and painting. Among the many collections, both public and private, in which he is represented are those of the Irish Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Texas, the Alvar Aalto Museum, Finland, the Wolverhampton Arts + Museum, England, the Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, the Gemeentemuseum, The Hague, Netherlands and the Collection of Ed & Nancy Kienholz. Maguire was appointed Professor of Fine Art and Head of the Faculty of Fine Art at the National College of Art and Design from 2000 - 2010.

Author: Brian Maguire
Publisher: Hugh Lane Gallery
Publication date: 1 Jan 2000
Format: Hardback
ISBN/EAN: 9781901702132