Nicholas Byrne / Benedikt Hipp

The Kerlin Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new work by Nicholas Byrne and Benedikt Hip. This will be the first time either artist has shown in Ireland.

Although both artists explore the traditions of drawing and painting in highly individual and distinctive styles, it can be said that both practices display an undeniable ability to investigate shape and form whilst demonstrating an intense love of the chosen medium and its possibilities for illusion, ambiguity, intricacy, darkness and humour.

Nicolas Byrne and Benedikt Hipp eschew a current European trend towards large, heroic expressionist painting in favour of a scale and gesture that is more intimate, complex and inquisitive. Each practice has its own distinct palette and language resulting in two very unique approaches to the difficulties of painting somewhere between abstraction and figuration. Their work betrays an informed knowledge and critique of early European modernism without becoming nostalgic or laden with post-modern referencing.

Nicholas Byrne was born in Oldham in 1979 but is currently based in London. He graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2005. Since graduation he has exhibited in London, Los Angeles and Miami. In 2006 Byrne was awarded a residency at Citè International des Arts in Paris.

Benedikt Hipp was born in Munich in 1977 where he currently lives and works. In 2007 he graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich where he studied under Sean Scully. For the last number of years he has been exhibiting extensively throughout Germany most notably in ‘Klasse Scully’ at Kunsthalle White Box, Munichin 2007 and ‘Kunststudentinnen und Kunststudenten stellen aus 2007’ at Bundeskunsthalle, Bonn 2007.

Nicholas Byrne / Benedikt Hipp