Nicholas Byrne
B. 1979, U.K.
Lives and works in London
Biography
Nicholas Byrne’s paintings on copper unite abstract and figurative elements with a strong sensibility for colour and formal harmony. A key part of Byrne’s work is his interest in symbols and forms with recurring motifs and geometric shapes, which the artist overlays with areas of colour rendered in different textures.
Exploring Byrne’s practice in 2021, Tom Morton writes, “While Byrne concedes that his work has the general ‘stink’ of mid-century British Modernism, it is more concerned with the stewardship and perversion of a visual language that he has found himself working in since his schooldays than the blithe appropriation of a currently fashionable episode from the history of art. Byrne has described himself as a ‘handler’ of his works and while their cuts and scratches recall the necessary wounds of surgery, they also recall more trivial bodily incursions: the running of a comb’s teeth through tangled hair, or the pressing of a stud into a fleshy earlobe.”
Solo and two-person exhibitions include: Liver of Sulphur, VI, VII, Oslo; LOVE, Cold Shower, with Anthea Hamilton, Schinkel Pavilion, Berlin; Finish your sentence, and Roleplay at Vilma Gold, London; Faces, with Nora Schultz, dépendance, Brussels; Divider, Studio Voltaire, London.
Group exhibitions include: Death, Volcano Extravaganza, Fiorucci Art Trust, Stromboli; Burning Down the House, with Anthea Hamilton, 10th Gwangju Biennale; Public Private Paintings, Kunstmuseum Ann Zee, Oostende; The Dark Monarch, Tate St Ives, St Ives.
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Nicholas Byrne, Untitled, 2017-2022
Oil on nickel silver
30.5 × 17 × 1 cm (12 × 6 ¾ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on nickel silver
30.5 × 17 × 1 cm (12 × 6 ¾ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Untitled, 2022
Oil on copper
50 × 35 × 1 cm (19 ⅝ × 13 ¾ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on copper
50 × 35 × 1 cm (19 ⅝ × 13 ¾ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Night Gate III, 2020-2022
Dye on Silk
223 × 230 cm (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches)
Dye on Silk
223 × 230 cm (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Night Gate II, 2020-2022
Dye on Silk
223 × 230 cm (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches)
Dye on Silk
223 × 230 cm (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Night Gate I, 2020-2022
Dye on Silk
223 × 230 cm (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches)
Dye on Silk
223 × 230 cm (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Night Gate I, 2020-2022
Dye on Silk
223 × 230 cm (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches) (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches)
Dye on Silk
223 × 230 cm (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches) (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Untitled, 2016-2022
Oil on copper
50 × 35 × 1 cm (19 ⅝ × 13 ¾ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on copper
50 × 35 × 1 cm (19 ⅝ × 13 ¾ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Liver of Sulphur III, 2016-2022
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Liver of Sulphur III, 2016-2022
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches) (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches) (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Liver of Sulphur II, 2016-2022
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Liver of Sulphur II, 2016-2022
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches) (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches) (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Liver of Sulphur I, 2016-2022
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Liver of Sulphur I, 2016-2022
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches) (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches) (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Untitled, 2021
Oil on linen
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on linen
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, O Roleplay, 2012
Oil on linen
50 × 35 × 1 cm (19 ⅝ × 13 ¾ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on linen
50 × 35 × 1 cm (19 ⅝ × 13 ¾ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Divider, 2008
Iron
Iron
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Exhibition view
Nicholas Byrne, Untitled, 2017-2022
Oil on nickel silver
30.5 × 17 × 1 cm (12 × 6 ¾ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on nickel silver
30.5 × 17 × 1 cm (12 × 6 ¾ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Untitled, 2022
Oil on copper
50 × 35 × 1 cm (19 ⅝ × 13 ¾ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on copper
50 × 35 × 1 cm (19 ⅝ × 13 ¾ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Night Gate III, 2020-2022
Dye on Silk
223 × 230 cm (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches)
Dye on Silk
223 × 230 cm (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Night Gate II, 2020-2022
Dye on Silk
223 × 230 cm (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches)
Dye on Silk
223 × 230 cm (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Night Gate I, 2020-2022
Dye on Silk
223 × 230 cm (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches)
Dye on Silk
223 × 230 cm (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Night Gate I, 2020-2022
Dye on Silk
223 × 230 cm (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches) (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches)
Dye on Silk
223 × 230 cm (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches) (87 ¾ × 90 ½ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Untitled, 2016-2022
Oil on copper
50 × 35 × 1 cm (19 ⅝ × 13 ¾ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on copper
50 × 35 × 1 cm (19 ⅝ × 13 ¾ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Liver of Sulphur III, 2016-2022
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Liver of Sulphur III, 2016-2022
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches) (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches) (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Liver of Sulphur II, 2016-2022
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Liver of Sulphur II, 2016-2022
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches) (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches) (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Liver of Sulphur I, 2016-2022
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Liver of Sulphur I, 2016-2022
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches) (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on copper
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches) (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Untitled, 2021
Oil on linen
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on linen
110 × 60 × 1 cm (43 ¼ × 23 ⅝ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, O Roleplay, 2012
Oil on linen
50 × 35 × 1 cm (19 ⅝ × 13 ¾ × ⅜ inches)
Oil on linen
50 × 35 × 1 cm (19 ⅝ × 13 ¾ × ⅜ inches)
Nicholas Byrne, Divider, 2008
Iron
Iron