ABOUT
Michael Gurhy is a Multidisciplinary Artist whose practice incorporates elements of drawing and photography with video and sculptural based installation. Born in Cork, Ireland, Gurhy graduated from Crawford College of Art with an Honours Degree, moving to London to complete his Masters at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
The on-going development of his practice has been supported through Arts Council England’s Project Grants and Developing Your Creative Practice Funding, In 2021 he was the recipient of an a-n Artists Bursary which allowed him to develop his printing skills. This year he has been selected for The Soho Fellowship Programme at Soho House, London.
He is currently based in East London, Hackney Wick where he works and lives with his partner Marco and their sassy 15 year old cat Nico ^-^
SELECTED ACHIEVEMENTS INCLUDE
The Crawford Open Artist Award, Selected from over 750 applicants by Francis Morris and Enrique Juncosa.
The Installation/Video Award from the Cork Film Centre
The U.C.C. Purchase Prize selected by the Glucksman Gallery for the University College Cork Collection
The Arts Festival Prize Award given by the Cork Institute of Technology
ARTIST STATEMENT
Blurring the lines between Fantasy, Reality and Biography, the work takes on an ‘Otherworldliness’ where Anthropomorphic Animals are Messengers and the Male Body, a Psychological Landscape exploring the Corporal and the Transcendental.
Through the incorporation of Fetishised Objects, Reclaimed Religious Imagery, Personal Artefacts and Fairytale/Mythical Imagery, I examine Emotions and States of Being (Altered States of Consciousness), Beauty and its Deconstruction, Violence, Order and Rituals which are both Sacred and Transgressive.
