Stephen Doyle Self Identity: An Exploration at St Kieran's College

Stephen Doyle is a Cork-based artist working from Backwater Studios. He focuses on exploring issues of queer identity through the relationship between figuration and the politics of representation. Doyle makes figurative depictions of LGBTQIA+ people, and often includes objects in the paintings, a gesture of ‘othering’ the art that mirrors the subject matter it investigates.

For Kilkenny Arts Festival, Doyle will be exhibiting a carefully curated selection of work which will showcase the artist’s investigations over the course of their career. Some topics within the show examine ‘The hyper-masculine and its relevance in contemporary culture’, ‘Gender expression in portraiture outside of binary terms’, and ‘Drag Culture’, to highlight a few.

Given that these artworks have not been presented together in one space before, it will allow for a greater insight into the beginnings of the artist and their trajectory into contemporary art in Ireland.

Stephen Doyle is the recipient of multiple national and international art prizes. They have been granted the Visual Art Bursary Award (2020) by the Arts Council of Ireland, added to the National Collection of Ireland (2021), included in the Art History syllabus for the Leaving Cert and added to the peer panel for the Arts Council of Ireland.

Stephen Doyle will discuss his work in conversation with Anna O'Sullivan the Parade Tower on Sunday 7 August at 12pm. Stephen Doyle Self Identity: An Exploration at the Festival Gallery @ St Kieran's College Daily 7-14 August 10.30am – 5.30pm. Admission free.