Giacometti Artist in Residence: Richard Malone

As part of the public programme for our summer exhibition Giacometti: From Life, Irish artist and fashion designer Richard Malone was our Artist in Residence in June and July. An display of work he created in response to the Giacometti exhibition is on view in the Gallery until 4 September 2022.

Knot Bind Gesture Bend

Knot Bind Gesture Bend is an exhibition of new work by Irish artist and designer Richard Malone. On view, for free, until 4 September 2022, this is Malone's contemporary response to the Gallery's summer show Giacometti: From Life. Read more about Knot Bind Gesture Bend.

About the residency

Artist residencies at the National Gallery of Ireland are designed to connect contemporary Irish arts practice and research with historical artists, exhibitions and collections. Managed by the Head of Education, these residencies began in 2017 and provide space, support and opportunity to respond, experiment and create.

For this project, Richard Malone will explore the exhibition Giacometti: From Life, and create a contemporary response to the artist’s life and work. From 7 June to 31 July 2022, he will participate in an onsite residency in the studio located next to the exhibition, spending time researching Giacometti, in conversation with curators and staff, and exploring related archives and texts.

The residency will include a public-engagement programme facilitated by Malone and the Gallery's Education team. This will be a combination of private, tailored workshops for schools, access groups and community partners, and free drop-in studio sessions, demos and talks for the general public.

From 4 August to 4 September, the outcome of Malone's residency will be displayed in the studio, free for all to visit. A learning and engagement programme, devised and facilitated by artists Sarah Ward and Eileen O’Sullivan, and Apollo Fellow Oisín Kenny, will complement the display.

About Richard Malone

Richard Malone is an Irish artist and designer from Wexford, Ireland. Originally studying sculpture in Carmarthen, Wales, Malone moved to study fashion in Central Saint Martins. Graduating in 2014, he was awarded the prestigious LVMH Grand Prix scholarship. His graduate collection opened the year’s BA Fashion press show and was awarded the Deutsche Bank Award for Fashion. In 2017 Malone was part of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)New York's first fashion exhibition in more than 60 years, Is Fashion Modern?, becoming one of the youngest artists in history to be added to the museum's permanent collection.

He has won numerous accolades including the British Fashion Council Fashion Trust, NEWGEN awards, twice nominated for the LVMH Prize and, in February 2020, Malone won the International Woolmark Prize - praised by the panel of judges for his ‘radically transparent’ working practice and revolutionary approach to research.

His artistic practice includes garment making, drawing, writing, textiles, weaving and performance, and his work is held in some of the world’s most important collections, including MoMA, The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.

In 2021, Malone curated Making and Momentum: In Conversation with Eileen Gray, a multi-disciplinary touring exhibition devised to create cross-generational dialogue in response to the seminal Irish designer and architect. It was while curating this project that Malone was re-introduced to the artist Alberto Giacometti, spending extended periods at the Giacometti Foundation’s retrospective A Marvellous Reality at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco.

Malone describes his artistic practice as “seeking to explore human truths and performed falsities, experimenting with exaggerated forms and animated sculptural works.” He is interested in “the overlap of contemporary society with the ancient past, and ritualistic collective practices”. His work often explores “the idea of the ‘ether’, a transient place of creativity or  a reaction that cannot be defined”. More recently Malone says his work has explored “the limitations and possibilities of language and symbolism, as well as the idea of multiple truths  existing within one object or identity”.

Community programme: 

We were delighted to collaborate with some of our community partners during this project including Catherine McAuley National School, the Irish Sign Language Community, Community Sewing Groups via Galway and Roscommon Education & Training Board, the Apollo Project, Youth Networks & Forums and Dementia Support Groups. Through collaboration with these groups, highly tailored activities and events will took place throughout June and July supporting diverse, equitable, accessible and inclusive engagement with Giacometti: From Life and the Artist Residency

Location:

All activity happened in our Millennium Wing Studio. We are committed to running accessible, inclusive events and activities and making our programme as welcoming as possible. The Millennium Wing Studio is wheelchair accessible and the education team will be on-hand to assist and support exhibition visitors and programme participants.

Giacometti: From Life was co-organised by the National Gallery of Ireland and the Fondation Giacometti.

Arthaus Hotel is the Giacometti Artist Residency Accommodation Partner.