Working in the studio on the 2nd floor of The Chocolate Factory in Dublin 1.   

Conor Gallagher is a graphic designer and artist from Sligo, Ireland. He has exhibited in places as diverse as woodlands in Sligo, a small island in Denmark, a clubhouse in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and the Salon Prado in Madrid, Spain.

He won Best Irish Artist at the 20th National Open Art Exhibition in London in October 2016 and has exhibited at the Royal Academy Annual Exhibition in London, the RHA Annual Exhibition in Dublin and the RUA Annual Exhibition in Belfast. He is based in the Chocolate Factory in Dublin 1.

He is originally from Sligo and have been a graphic designer for over 30 years. He lives beside the Royal Canal in the north inner city and his studio is based in the Chocolate Factory Creative Space in Kings’ Inns Street in Dublin 1.

In 2008, he started an art course with CEAD (Centre for Continuing Education) at NCAD. The encouragement he got from teachers and fellow pupils was the catalyst to start out.

HE WRITES:

My paintings often start in a realistic style and they are then de-constructed which may involve literally scraping back to the surface.

I usually work with oils and acrylics on board sometimes adding wax, glue, plaster and pigments. I often use palette knives, scrapers, squeegees and scouring pads. I try to work fast and the most successful paintings seem to be made in a short time. I respond to places that inspire me, and often experiment with new tools and materials (local if possible) to capture interesting marks. Inspired by Chinese scroll painting and its immediacy of ink on paper, I like making triptychs as they capture the wide panorama of a landscape.

Drawings are a valuable source of reference especially when I get back to the studio. Photographs also reassure composition and colour. Music is essential and I particularly like listening to experimental music while I work.