Curios About: Row of Houses in Dublin 4 by Ciarán Doyle

Row of Houses in Dublin 4
By Ciarán Doyle
Acrylic, ink and pencil on paper, mounted on board, 40 cm x 40 cm

1. This work is about … the architecture of Dublin. This painting of Barrow Street in Dublin 4 looks at the different buildings in the area, from different eras – the bungalows in the foreground and the old gasworks, now an apartment complex – all behind the overhead wires and streetlights that connect all the buildings.

2. I made this work because … I love this part of Dublin. The contrast between the old bungalows and the new office buildings on the other side of the street (which are not in the painting) is really interesting. In this area the gasworks can be seen in the background against the rows of single-storey houses. It is a very dramatic structure among those houses and gives the area a distinctive atmosphere.

3. I hope when people see this work they will … notice the interesting, beautiful, architecture in Dublin that we live with. The ordinary quiet streets of Dublin can be just as interesting, visually, as more dramatic modern architecture in the city centre.

4. In terms of art history, this work … connects to a history of artists constantly documenting their environment. A lot of paintings observe the Irish landscape from a rural perspective, but not a lot from an urban perspective. I suppose my paintings are trying to observe and document what Dublin is like, at the present time. Buildings and structures from the past have a huge presence in my work; they are constantly changing as new buildings appear, but they still give Dublin its distinct atmosphere.

5. You can see my work … on my website or on my Facebook page.

“Curios About …” is a series featuring works by Dublin artists. Each artist is asked to submit an image of one work and answer a set of questions about it. We’d love it if you’d submit something you’ve made, here.