Justin Fitzpatrick works with painting, sculpture, text and, most recently, video to explore human consciousness through the prism of biology. He presents us with elaborate and fantastical paintings of mysterious figures and mutating forms; sinewy lines evoke art nouveau detailing, fused with gothic and macabre elements. Much of his work contains figurative elements transformed into static, infrastructural ones: the bodies of men become mechanical, forming spaces to inhabit or transit upon. Highly stylised musculoskeletal structures seem visible through the skin, while ornate, vegetal forms and insects link his subjects to the earth, or point towards the interconnectedness of different species. Fitzpatrick’s work is informed by the science around cellular structures (in particular, mitochondria), metaphysical poetry, mythologies, and an array of archetypal figures, often viewed through a lens of class and sexuality.
Justin Fitzpatrick lives and works in France.
Justin Fitzpatrick
Pearl Liaison 1: Interpretation, 2: Induction and 3: Interpretation, 2023
Oil on linen
182 x 142 cm each
Justin Fitzpatrick
The body forgets the score so sometimes has to write it down, 2024
oil on linen, oak frame
183 x 143 cm / 72 x 56.3 in framed
Justin Fitzpatrick
The Glass Armonica (Dying at my music), 2024
oil on linen, oak frame
183 x 143 x 3 cm / 72 x 56.3 x 1.2 in framed
Justin Fitzpatrick
A Musical Instrument, 2024
oil on linen, oak frame
180 x 140 cm / 70.9 x 55.1 in
183 x 143 cm / 72 x 56.3 in framed
Justin Fitzpatrick
Position-Momentum (Fugue), 2024
oil on linen, oak frame
143 x 183 cm / 56.3 x 72 in framed
Justin Fitzpatrick
Sight Reading, 2024
oil on linen, oak frame
183 x 93 cm / 72 x 36.6 in framed
Justin Fitzpatrick
Poster for a Musical (The Prostate Piano), 2024
oil on linen, oak frame
140 x 180 cm / 55.1 x 70.9 in
143 x 183 x 3 cm / 56.3 x 72 x 1.2 in framed
Justin Fitzpatrick
Memory of a birthday, 2024
oil on linen, oak frame
143 x 183 cm / 56.3 x 72 in framed
Justin Fitzpatrick
Aeolian Harp Suspension Bridge, 2024
oil on linen, oak frame
183 x 143 cm / 72 x 56.3 in framed
Justin Fitzpatrick
Perfume Pollen Plasma, 2024
Oil on linen
142.5 x 182.5 x 2.6 cm / 56.1 x 71.9 x 1 in framed
Justin Fitzpatrick
Pituitary-Thyroid Rosaries, 2024
Oil on linen
182.5 x 142.5 x 2.6 cm / 71.9 x 56.1 x 1 in framed
Justin Fitzpatrick
Bee and pollen I, 2022
Wood, resin, silk metal wire, beaded car seat covers, fabric tape
165 x 127 x 165 cm
Justin Fitzpatrick
Thynnine Wasp Pheromones, 2023
Oil on linen, oak artist frame (pinned)
143 x 93 x 3 cm / 56.3 x 36.6 x 1.2 in framed
Justin Fitzpatrick
Flexor Bread-basket, 2020
Wood, epoxy clay, wire, cotton rope, acrylic paint and woven basket
207 x 101 x 18 cm
Justin Fitzpatrick
Horizontal Gene Transfer. Portrait of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, 2023
Oil on canvas
140 x 180 cm / 55.1 x 70.9 in
Justin Fitzpatrick
Urine Console 2, 2023
Oak wood, lead free pewter, resin, ceramic, cotton, key, rings, birch wood
195 x 60 x 14 cm
Justin Fitzpatrick
Portrait of Pavel Tchelitchew, 2021
Oil on canvas mounted on wooden panel
123 x 63 cm / 48.4 x 24.8 x 1.2 in framed
Justin Fitzpatrick
Self portrait as a eukaryotic cell with flagellar motor and platform shoe, 2023
Wood, polyurethane, epoxy resin, aluminum, steel, leather, cotton
175 x 144 x 54 cm
Justin Fitzpatrick
Chef’s Table: France, 2020
Oil on linen
92 x 183 cm
Portrait of Pavel Tchelitchew, 2021
oil on canvas mounted on wooden panel
123 x 63 x 3 cm / 48.4 x 24.8 x 1.2 in
Born in 1985 in Dublin, Ireland, Justin Fitzpatrick attended St. Oswald’s School of Painting in London from 2004–2007 and earned his MA in Fine Art Painting from the Royal College of Art in London in 2015. He has exhibited widely in the United Kingdom and Europe, and participated in recent shows in New York and Mexico. Fitzpatrick had his first solo institutional exhibition, Alpha Salad, at The Tetley, Leeds in 2022. On 17 March 2024, his first institutional solo exhibition in France, Ballotta, opened at La Ferme du Buisson, Noisiel, near Paris (until 28 July).
Justin Fitzpatrick, Endocrine Table 1 and 2, 2024, Pearl Liaison 4: Interpellation, 2023, courtesy of the artist and Adagp, exhibition view of Ballotta, production La Ferme du Buisson, 2024, © photo Émile Ouroumov, 2024.Rights reserved
Justin Fitzpatrick
Alpha Salad at The Tetley, 2022
Leeds, UK
Justin Fitzpatrick in conversation with Thomas Conchou, curator and director of the Centre d’art contemporain de La Ferme du Buisson.
Justin Fitzpatrick: Alpha Salad at The Tetley
Justin Fitzpatrick in conversation with Paul Clinton
At 5pm on Friday 8 November, Justin Fitzpatrick will appear in conversation with Thomas Conchou, curator and director of the Centre d’art contemporain de La Ferme du Buisson.
Siobhán Hapaska and Justin Fitzpatrick are both exhibiting as part of Kites Above the Castles, specially curated for Dublin Gallery Weekend by Patrick T. Murphy (curator and Director of the Royal Hibernian Academy).
Justin Fitzpatrick's first institutional solo exhibition in France, Ballotta, opens at La Ferme du Buisson, Noisiel on 17 March.
