The artist who loves to be labelled a sell-out

The artist who loves to be labelled a sell-out!
by Gavin McGuire
(© Bray People, Thursday July 7th 2005)

It's not too often that a debut solo art exhibition by a local artist sells out on the very first night of its run.

But that's the situation Bray artist Conall McCabe found himself in just one hour after his very first solo exhibition opened at the Signal Art Centre in Bray two weeks ago.

The exhibition entitled 'Chiaroscuro' featured 14 oil paintings in total; mostly nudes and including a striking self-portrait of the artist in his workplace along with smaller intimate portraits of his family.

Ten of the 14 pieces were on sale and within an hour of the exhibition opening, they had all been sold.

Quite an achievement for the 30 year-old's first solo exhibition. Following on from the exhibition, Conall secured eight private commissions and was also asked to become a teacher at the new Irish Academy in Dublin City Centre.

'I really did not know what to expect. It was totally new territory for me; it was my first solo show and all the pieces were gone within an hour. So I guess I would say that it exceeded all my expectations,' Conall jokes.

Commenting on the offer of a job, Conall said 'The guys who set up this academy actually came out to see the exhibition and were impressed by what they saw and asked me to teach drawing.'

An entire year's work went in to the exhibition and the fact that it sold out within an hour is great encouragement for Conall who plans to start work on his next exhibition later this summer.

His love of art goes back to Conall's school days in Presentation College. 'I did art through school both in the Junior Cert and Leaving Cert. And when I was much younger I was also involved in the Texaco Art Competitions,' Conall remarks.

After finishing secondary school, Conall went to Stafford in England to study for a Higher National Diploma in figurative sculpting. From there, Conall went on to study at Loughborough University outside Leicester and was subsequently awarded a BA in Fine Art Sculpture.

Having been conferred, Conall returned home and worked professionally for two years and it was during this period of his life that he secured his first major sculpture commission.

The life-size sculpture of Mayor Francis Taylor and his grandmother-in-law Mayoress Margaret Ball, is entitled 'The Dublin Martyrs' and now stands outside the Pro-Cathedral on Dublin's Marlborough Street.

At the same time, Conall completed a number of private portrait commissions and also applied to the The Roisín Dubh Trust for the Phil Lynott statue commission. The late great Thin Lizzy guitarist was one of Conall's personal heroes and he was anxious to get the commission.

Unfortunately, it was not meant to be as Conall was eliminated in the last round of the commission process.

However, Conall did get to meet Phil's mother Philomena Lynott and he presented her with a three-piece drawing of her son two years later.

Before all that occurred though, Conall won a scholarship to the New York Academy of Art where he studied for two years and received a Masters in Fine Art.

During his time in New York, Conall majored in drawing and his second subject was painting.

The triptych which Conall presented to Phil Lynott's mother was his second year project while attending the New York Academy of Art and upon returning home, Conall presented Philomena with the drawings at Dublin's Wax Works.

As already mentioned, Conall has spent the last 12 months locked up in his studio creating the pieces for his exhibition.

When he wasn't creating, Conall was working part-time on a Community Employment Scheme to earn a few quid on the side.

It's a typical situation for many burgeoning Irish artists who cannot afford to concentrate fully on their art, Conall says.

'It's quite difficult to get funding from the Arts Council. And unless you have some kind of support behind you like your parents, it's really the only way you can get started. You could be lucky to get a grant from the Arts Council but they are not too easy to get your hands on,' Conall comments.

However, despite the lack of support systems for up-and-coming artists, Conall reckons that Ireland is as good a place as anywhere to get started. 'There are some supports in Ireland and the country is prolific when it comes to artists so it's not a bad place to be as an artist right now,' he says.

'The country is opening up a lot more. I mean trying to survive in London or New York where the heart of the art world is would be next to impossible.'

'Painting is really where I want to go for the moment as there are probably more opportunities for a painter than a sculptor. It takes about five or six years hard work before you could approach the galleries in London or New York but I hope to be at that stage some day,' he concludes.