An artist working with drawing, painting and sculpture, Guggi digs deep into a personal yet universal subject matter: the quotidian beauty of household objects. He committedly revisits his signature motifs of bowls, jugs and vessels, using repetition and abstraction to conjure an almost meditative state. In his paintings and works on paper, their forms appear tentative: broken outlines against resonant washes of abstract colour. And yet when Guggi continues his investigations as sculpture, these humble instruments are bestowed with a renewed majesty and power: polished bronze or fibreglass forms that seem to harness and heighten energy, with the simplicity and timelessness of prehistoric artefacts. Connecting both approaches is a sense of openness and fluidity, an attentiveness to prosaic details. “By salvaging beauty from distress, soulfulness from fragmentation,” writes historian and art critic Kelly Grovier, “Guggi creates objects from another world … Fragile yet enduring, they echo an esoteric tradition of shattered urns, jars, and cups that date back centuries – perennial metaphors for the breaking of forms necessary for the release of creativity.”
Guggi lives and works in Dublin.
Guggi
Broken 2d, 2023
acrylic and graphite on brown paper
61 x 81 cm / 24 x 31.9 in paper size
69.7 x 88 cm / 27.4 x 34.6 in framed
Guggi
Them, 2023
Acrylic and graphite on brown paper
120 x 165 cm / 47.2 x 65 in
130 x 175 cm / 51.2 x 68.9 in framed
Guggi
Broken 3d, 2023
Acrylic and graphite on brown paper
61 x 81 cm / 24 x 31.9 in paper size
69.7 x 88 cm / 27.4 x 34.6 in framed
Guggi
Calix Meus Inebrians, 2009
painted bronze
310 x 452 x 452 cm / 122 x 178 x 178 in
Collection of Chateau la Coste, Aix en Provence, France
Guggi
Urn I-IV, 2024
Set of 4 whitewashed bronze urns
14.2 x 8 cm/ 17.9 x 10.7 cm/ 18.3 x 6.7 cm/ 13.8 x 9.5 cm
Guggi
Crucible V, 2023
Bronze, polished rim, black patina interior and exterior, edition of 9
34 x 58 x 58 cm / 13.4 x 22.8 x 22.8 in
Guggi
Crucible I, 2023
Bronze, white patina, edition of 9
34 x 57 x 57 cm / 13.4 x 22.4 x 22.4 in
Guggi
Broken 8, 2023
Acrylic and graphite on brown paper
61 x 81 cm / 24 x 31.9 in paper size
71 x 88.5 x 4 cm . 28 x 34.8 x 1.6 in framed
Guggi
Crucible IV, 2023
Bronze, white patina, edition of 9
34 x 57 x 57 cm / 13.4 x 22.4 x 22.4 in
Guggi
Second from End III, 2011
digital print on Hannemuehle paper, edition of 27
87 x 62 cm / 34.3 x 24.4 in image size
109 x 81.5 x 3.8 cm / 42.9 x 32.1 x 1.5 in framed
Guggi
Second from End I, 2011
digital print on Hannemuehle paper, edition of 27
87 x 62 cm / 34.3 x 24.4 in image size
109 x 81.5 x 3.8 cm / 42.9 x 32.1 x 1.5 in framed
Broken, Château La Coste, 2018
A former member of the post-punk band Virgin Prunes, Guggi’s work can be found in the collections of the National Gallery of Ireland; the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; Château La Coste, France; Akureyri Art Museum, Iceland; and The Clarence Hotel, Dublin. In recent years, he has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Château La Coste, Aix-en-Provence (2023); Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris (2022), Yoshii Gallery, New York; Galerie 75 Fauborg, Paris (both 2021); Kerlin Gallery, Dublin; Yoshii Gallery, Tokyo and Arcane Space, Los Angeles (all 2019).
Guggi
Broken, 2019
Kerlin Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
Guggi
Broken, 2018
Château La Coste, France
Guggi
Guggi, 2013
Kerlin Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
Guggi
Guggi, 2009
Kerlin Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
This exhibition of new sculpture and painting by Irish artist Guggi explores the complexities of the human experience and the artist’s personal memories through interpretations of the humble vessel.
Opening on Bloomsday, renowned artist Guggi celebrates CCI’s 20th birthday with a retrospective of works spanning three decades.
