Jack and Kevin in final twelve
TWO Wexford art students are in with a chance of winning a €2,000 cash prize and having their art displayed in a top Dublin workplace after reaching the final of a major competition.
Jack Barrett from Wexford town, a student in the Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) and Kevin Mernagh Roche from Enniscorthy a Fine Art in the National College of Art and Design are among 12 finalists in the Iconic Offices competition.
All the finalists will have their work permanently displayed on 20 walls in the inspirational setting of new Iconic building The Brickhouse at Clanwilliam Court, Dublin 2 but the lucky winner will receive a cheque for €2,000 with the runner-up getting €1,000 and the third place artist receiving €500.
The judging panel comprises influential artists and designers including the urban artist James Early; the Creative Director of Brown Thomas John Redmond and Managing Director of Kingston Lafferty. The winners will be announced at a reception on April 19.
Jack Barrett (20) is in his second year in IADT studying Visual Arts Practice and is currently working with light painting, a type of photography where you shine lights in front of a camera with a long shutter speed, resulting in bright colourful lines.
‘I am interested in lights. In the past, I have done paintings that deal with light as a medium and now I am physically painting with light and I find that fascinating’, he said.
Jack takes inspiration from the artists Darren Pearson and Oliver Comerford. He wants to continue his career as an artist and to make a name for himself.
Kevin Mernagh Roche is studying Fine Art Painting and Education at the National College of Art and Design. He likes to think of himself as an artist who asks questions through his work.
He is inspired by avant garde movements of the 20th century, in particular the Italian Avant Garde movement led by Lucio Fontana, Concetto Spaziale (Spatial Concent) and the Space Age Aesthetic. He also looks to Art Povera in terms of the materials he uses.
Joe McGinley , the CEO and founder of Iconic Offices, Dublin’s leading provider of flexible workspace said he was eager to fill two new co-working spaces launched this year with inspiring art and to nurture young talent in the process.
The Brickhouse supports entrepreneurs, creatives and young talent and Iconic was eager to give student artists a platform to showcase their work.
contemporary urban artist James Earley said he was very impressed by the standard of submissions for the competition with a large variety of stylistic and conceptual approaches featured.