Artist Sean makes short list
LOCAL art student Sean McGuill from Bellurgan Point is one of twenty four artists short listed for the prestigious Hennessey Portrait Prize 2017.
The 22 year old, a student at Limerick School of Art and Design, is the youngest artist to be short listed for the award this year.
‘I have always interested in art from a young age but it was around the time I was in 5th or 6th year in The Marist, that I decided to go on and do an art & design PLC in O’Fiaich which was a great experience and encouraged me to study it in college,’ says Sean.
He is in the final year of an Honours degree in Fine Art specialising in Printmaking and Contemporary Practice.
He has won a number of awards including the John Shinnors’ prize at the LSAD Drawing Awards (2017), The Florence Vere O’Brien Lace Drawing Award (2016), and the LSAD Drawing Award (2015).
His work has been shown in group exhibitions in Limerick, Dundalk and Berlin.
He completed his submission for the Hennessey Award, a self-portrait drawing, while living in Berlin during the summer where he worked as an intern in a contemporary art gallery.
‘It’s a great honour to be short listed and to have my work shown in such a prestigious institution with some of the best artists in the country,’ he says.
The exhibition opens in the National Gallery on November 25 and the winner, who will receive a prize of €15,000, will be announced on Tuesday November 28. The winning artist will also be awarded a commission worth €5,000 to produce a portrait for inclusion in the National Portrait Collection. There will also be two additional awards of €1,500 for highly commended works.
Last year, Dundalk artist Leanne Mullen was highly commended for her self-portrait.