Niall Naessens was born in Dublin in 1961 and currently lives in Lios na Caolbhaí, Brandon in West Kerry. Naessens has been drawing all his life. He is a graduate of the National College of Art and Design, Visual Communications 1983. He first engaged with printmaking at the Graphic Studio Dublin in 1990. He worked on the Visiting Artists Program at the studio was a director 2000-2004. In 2004 he set up Cló Cill Rialaig an etching workshop in Ballinskelligs and was master printmaker there until 2009. Naessens returned to N.C.A.D. graduating with an MFA in Fine Art Print in 2013.
Naessens’ most recent solo show was Good Morning Mister Turner, Niall Naessens and J.M.W. Turner at the National Gallery of Ireland 2018. Naessens showed etchings and drawings inspired by Turner alongside the Henry Vaughan Bequest Tuner watercolours. Good Morning Mister Turner also showed at Siamsa Tire Tralee, 2018. In 2019 his work is included the RHA annual Exhibition, Impressions Print Biennial at Galway Arts Festival, Graphic studio summer Show and Boyle Arts Festival 20 Year Exhibition.
Naessens is working towards an exhibition titled Absurd Man to be shown at SO Fine Art, Dublin October 2020.
Artist’s Statement
I am a 58 year old artist. I have been living and working in Lios na Caolbhai, a remote and exposed townland in West Kerry. I am a draughtsman specialising in etching. My work explores many ideas within the genre of landscape art.
My work focuses on light and space. The way I construct an image is deliberate and pedantic the composition and mark making thought out. I use rules and stencils and I draw formal hatching. I layer my drawings, making an image out of several independent procedures. My landscapes are square, making them intimate. While I pay heed to tradition, my take on landscape is not traditional. I hide things behind distractions interference and motifs.
Recently I have introduced figures into my work. This started off while making work for my 2018 Good Morning Mister Turner show where an artist featured in many works. It was unclear whether the artist was myself or Turner but the presence changed the dynamic of the work. It opened new dialogues with the viewer and suggested narratives.
I make pictures that are familiar yet not real, a magic realism. I see my images as backdrops to events; maybe a gust of wind or an artist observing dawn. Although I live in a remote and beautiful landscape and the idea of merely ‘capturing’ does not interest me anymore. I am looking closer and trying to portray the life of an artist and his ideas through the vehicle of landscape. I want the viewers to look, think and wonder as I do. The sentiment in my work is about the physical nature of being in a place
I make 3 and 4 plate colour etchings involving hard and soft grounds, aquatint, sugarlift, spitbititng, engraving, burnishing and erasing. My drawings are graphite printed over with flat ares of translucent etching ink and gouache. I employ my own particular drawing syntax which I have developed by moving between the two mediums. I capitalise on the limitations of a medium, finding in restrictions the freedom to create voice.
Niall Naessens
June 2019.
CV
______EDUCATION
| 1978-1983 | Diploma in Visual Communications | National College of Art and Design |
| 2011-2013 | MFA fine Art Print | National College of Art and Design |
______SOLO EXHIBITIONS
| 2019 | Draw | An Diseart, Dingle, Co. Kerry |
| 2018 | Good Morning Mister Turner Niall Naessens and J.M.W.Turner | National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin |
| Good Morning Mister Turner | Siamsa Tire, Tralee, Co. Kerry | |
| 2015 | L 12121 Picture Panoply | Graphic Studio Gallery, Dublin |
| L 12121 Picture Panoply | Stiuideo Lios na Caolbhaí, Brandon, Co. Kerry | |
| Neighbour in the Printroom | Cork Printmakers, Cork | |
| 2012 | Eyeful of Sky | Siamsa Tire, Tralee, Co. Kerry |
| Distant World | Bildtse Aardappel Weken, Het Bildt, Holland | |
| 2011 | Etchings | An Lab, Dingle, Co. Kerry |
| An Irish Etcher | The Ink Shop, Itheca, New York, USA | |
| 2010 | Landmarks | Graphic Studio Gallery, Dublin |
| 2008 | Vico | Dalkey Arts, Dublin |
| Paintings & Etchings | Hamilton Gallery, Sligo | |
| 2007 | Brandon Etchings | Graphic Studio Gallery, Dublin |
| Brandon Etchings | Art Upstairs, Wexford | |
| Brandon Etchings | Wellspring Gallery, Tralee, Co. Kerry | |
| Cé Bhréanainn | Old Town Hall, Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA | |
| 2005 | South Westerlies | Paul Kane Gallery, Dublin |
| 2006 | Laistíos den Chnoc | An Diseart, Dingle, Co. Kerry |
| Painting in Kerry | Millcove, Sheen Falls Hotel, Kenmare, Co. Kerry | |
| 2003 | 10 Prints Niall Naessens | Factory Performance, Sligo |
______TWO AND THREE PERSON EXHIBITIONS
| 2016 | Song Lineswith Daniel Lipstein | Hamilton Gallery, Sligo |
| Song Lineswith Daniel Lipstein | Custom House Gallery, Westport | |
| 2011 | Two Person Show | Greenlane Gallery, Dingle, Co. Kerry |
| 2002 | Two Person Show | Kilcock Art Gallery, Kilcock |
| 2000 | Two Person Show | Paul Kane Gallery, Dublin |
| 1999 | Two Person Show | Graphic Studio Gallery, Dublin |
| Two Person Show | Watch House Gallery, Enniscorthy, Wexford | |
| 1995 | Three Printmakers | Graphic Studio Gallery, Dublin |
| Landscapes (3 Artists) | Wellspring Gallery, Tralee, Co. Kerry | |
| Three Printmakers | Droichead Gallery, Drogheda Co. Louth |
______SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
| 2019 | GSD summer show | Graphic Studio Dublin |
| RHA Annual | Royal Hibernian Academy | |
| Boyle Arts Festival | Boyle, Co. Roscommon | |
| 2018 | Duoro Print Biennial | Duoro, Portugal |
| Boyle Arts Festival | Boyle, Co. Roscommon | |
| GSD summer show | Graphic Studio Dublin | |
| 2016 | Duoro Print Biennial | Duoro, Portugal |
| 25, Cork Printmakers 25 Years | The Atrium, Cork City Hall | |
| RHA Annual Exhibition | Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin | |
| 2015 | RHA Annual Exhibition | Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin |
| Impressions | CCAM GMIT Galway | |
| A lonely Impulse of Delight | S.O. Fine Art Dublin | |
| 2 Global Print 2015 | Douro, Portugal | |
| 2014 | RHA Annual Exhibition | Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin |
| 2013 | NCAD MFA Show | Moxie, Dublin |
| Landmarks | Blue Egg Gallery, Wexford | |
| 2012 | MFA Show | IMOCA, Dublin |
| Plata Te | Greenlane Gallery, Dingle | |
| Limerick Printmakers | Kruezberg Printmaking Centre, Berlin | |
| 2011 | RA Summer Exhibition | Royal Academy, London |
| RHA Annual Exhibition | Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin | |
| 2010 | RHA Annual Exhibition | Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin |
| 2009 | Artists Proof | Chester Beatty Library |
| Print Show | Himmelblau Gallery, Tampere, Finland | |
| RHA Annual Exhibition | Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin | |
| 2008 | Eigsé Festival | Carlow |
| Group Show | The Blackbird Gallery, Kilkenny | |
| GSD @ Kenny’s | Kenny’s Art Gallery, Galway | |
| Feile na Bealtaine | Dingle, Co. Kerry | |
| 2007 | Heal 2007 | The Naughton Gallery, Queens, Belfast |
| Eigsé Festival | Carlow | |
| RHA Annual Exhibition | Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin | |
| Port Print | Dublin Port and Graphic Studio Dublin | |
| 2006 | What is a Print | National Gallery of Ireland |
| Of Place & Time | Lavitt Gallery, Cork | |
| London Original Print Fair | Royal Academy, London | |
| RHA Annual Exhibition | Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin | |
| Feile na Bealtaine | Dingle, Co. Kerry | |
| 2005 | Garden of Earthly Delights | Chester Beatty Library, Dublin |
| London Original Print Fair | Royal Academy, London | |
| The Cracked Looking Glass | Graphic Studio Gallery, Dublin | |
| 2004 | London Original Print Fair | Royal Academy, London |
| RHA Annual Exhibition | Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin | |
| Springboard | Davis Gallery, Dublin | |
| 2003 | New Works | Graphic Studio Gallery, Dublin |
| Oireachtais Exhibition | Dublin | |
| Limited Editions | Frank Lewis Gallery, Killarney | |
| Every Blooming Thing | National Botanic Gardens, Dublin | |
| London Original Print Fair | Royal Academy, London | |
| RHA Annual Exhibition | Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin | |
| 2002 | Holy Show | Chester Beatty Library, Dublin |
| On Board | Sligo Art Gallery, Sligo | |
| Iontas Prize-winners Show | Sligo Art Gallery, Sligo | |
| Oireachtais Exhibition | Dublin | |
| London Original Print Fair | Royal Academy, London | |
| RHA Annual Exhibition | Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin | |
| Graphic Studio Prints | Nordens Lus, Stockholm, Sweden | |
| 2001 | Ireland/France Print Exchange | Paris, France |
| Small Works | Paul Kane Gallery, Dublin | |
| Oireachtais Exhibition | Dublin | |
| London Original Print Fair | Royal Academy, London | |
| RHA Annual Exhibition | Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin | |
| Graphic Studio Prints | Kunst Forum, Norskoping, Sweden | |
| 2000 | 4th Triennale Mondial d’Estampes. | Chamalieres, France |
| London Original Print Fair | Royal Academy, London | |
| RHA Annual Exhibition | Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin | |
| Irish Print Exhibition | Kelowna and Okanogan, Canada | |
| Graphic Studio Prints | Chris Doswell Gallery, Limerick | |
| 1999 | Galleri Astley | Skinsratterberg, Sweden |
| London Original Print Fair | Royal Academy, London | |
| 1998 | Art into Art | National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin |
| International Print Exhibit | Stockholm, Sweden | |
| Five Printmakers | Frank Lewis Gallery, Killarney | |
| 1997 | 3rd Triennale Mondial d’Estampes. | Chamalieres, France |
| Out of Ireland | Kennesaw State University, Georgia, USA | |
| London Original Print Fair | Royal Academy, London | |
| 1996 | Irish Prints | Yellow Gallery Chicago, USA |
| Print Show | Wellspring Gallery, Kerry | |
| Guest Printmaker | Rubicon Gallery, Dublin | |
| 1995 | Irish Landscapes | Frank Lewis Gallery, Kenmare, Kerry |
| Ljubljana Print Biennale | Ljubljana, Slovenia | |
| 1994 | Irish Prints | Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool |
| RHA Annual Exhibition | Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin | |
| 1993 | RHA Annual Exhibition | Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin |
| Iontas Small Works | Sligo Art Gallery, Sligo | |
| 1992 | Group Show | Pantheon Gallery, Dublin |
______COLLECTIONS
| National Gallery of Ireland | Dublin City University |
| Bank of Ireland | Office of Public Works |
| Chester Beatty Library | William Fry & Company |
| St. Vincent’s University Hospital | Shelbourne Hotel |
| Beaumont Hospital | ABN Amro Bank |
| Allied Irish Bank | Contemporary Art Society of Ireland |
| Hilton Hotel, Kilmainham | Irish Embassy, Beijing |
| Irish Embassy, Tanzania | George McClelland |
| Global Crossing | Jury’s Hotel Group |
| Mason Hayes and Curran | Radisson Hotel SAS |
| Northern Bank |
______COMMISSIONS
| Department of Foreign Affairs | Ballyroe Hotel, Tralee, Co. Kerry |
| Dublin Port Company | Graphic Studio, Dublin |
| University College Dublin | UCD Club, St. Stephen’s Green |