"John Byrne is the contemporary visual equivalent to the poet in ancient Irish society who used sharp wit to expose hypocrisy, mediocrity and pretentiousness. In his art practice Byrne examines issues from a comic perspective, reducing monuments of political, religious and cultural division to the ridiculous. His approach varies from performance to film to tableau re-enactment and he has used all of these very effectively to undermine prejudice and stereotype. " Catherine Marshall, Irish Times
John was born in Belfast, He went to the art college
there before attending the Slade School in London
(1984-86) and has been living and working in Dublin
since 1996.
He’s responsible for a number of high profile public art
works including Dublin’s Last Supper 2004, Misneach
2010, a monumental equestrian sculpture in Ballymun.
He has a background in performative work including
The Border Interpretative Centre 2000 and Would You
die for Ireland 2003.
He is currently working on a new public artwork for
Fingal Co Council due to be launched this Spring.
He was elected to Aosdána in 2015.
