at Origin Gallery 7th – 31st July 2017

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in Dublin in 1979, Mark Redden graduated from the Crawford College of Art, winning several awards for his work, which has been described by Aidan Dunne (Irish Times Art Critic) is an artist with “an ambitious sense of engagement. Like Francesco Clemente, he wants his all encompassing vision to have a sweeping, mystical breadth.”

He always knew he wanted to be an artist. Following school he expanded his cultural education, which was wide-ranging and largely self-taught. He worked briefly in advertising and later for a wooden boat-builder in a village in the west of Ireland. He has travelled to five continents and continues to travel in search of a broader knowledge of different places and cultures.

He has taken inspiration from poets, philosophers, scientists and writers. Although he acknowledges the influence of such artists asAnselm Kiefer, Joseph Beuys, Richard Deacon and Jimmy Durham, Redden has created his own distinctive iconography in which each element is loaded with symbolism and meaning.

The artist takes a cyclical view of time and history, and as a consequence, a handful of over-arching themes appear regularly in his work. These repeating gestures are in a way a response to the repetitive system of human history. One that is apparently constantly changing yet bound to an eternal theme of birth, growth and death. He seeks to understand our purpose here on Earth and our relationship with the celestial, spiritual and physical nature of life.

This fascination with the world and his thirst for knowledge and understanding provokes the viewer to consider these bigger questions with him. He forms a narrative that defies any definitive interpretation yet aims to inspire far-ranging thoughts in the viewer.

 

Education
1998-2001: Diploma (hons) in fine art sculpture, Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art and Design, Dublin.
2003–2004: Degree (hons) in fine art painting and sculpture, Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork.

Awards and Residencies
2002: Resident at Brookfield Studios, Margate, Tasmania, Australia.
2003: Awarded Eli Lily Acquisition Prize. Selected for RDS Annual Student Awards.
2004: Resident at Van Morey Studio, Snug, Tasmania, Australia.
2005: Resident at Mantua Art Project, Roscommon, Ireland, awarded bursary by Roscommon County Council.
2006, 2008, 2011, and 2012: Resident at Cill Rialaig, Ballinskelligs, Kerry Ireland.

Solo Exhibitions
2015- ‘The Reconfigured Beast,’ Museu Maritím de Barcelona, Spain.
2012- ‘The Vagabond goes to the Sea’, Origin gallery, Dublin.
2008- ‘Cave,’ Cibercentro, La Lila, Oviedo, Spain. ‘A Manual on Tidal Arrangements,’ Urban Retreat gallery, Dublin.
2007– ‘What Remains,’ Urban Retreat Gallery, Dublin.
2006– ‘We the Navigators,’ Origin Gallery, Dublin.

Collections 
Cork Institute of Technology, Carlow Institute of Technology, Eli Lilly Ireland, Irish Teachers Union, Boyle Civic Trust, Office of Public Works Dublin, Mexican Embassy Ireland, Office of Public Works, Ireland. Private collections in Europe, Asia, Australia, America.

“Redden has exhibited across Ireland, in China and Tasmania and has several works in public collections. But at 27 he is still a young artist. Should he hold onto his optimism, and should his talent develop to anywhere near the complexity and sophistication of Melville, Ireland will have something to shout about.”

ROS DRINKWATER, Writing about the Artist in 2007
in THE SUNDAY BUSINESS POST

 

 

Show continues until July 30th 2017