About
Michael McGuinness was born in the town of Limavady in 1955. He attended Art College in Coventry and Belfast before finishing his studies at the Slade School of Fine Art in London. Throughout his career he has lectured in the National College of Art, Dublin, Belfast College of Art, the Hayward Gallery, London and Tate Britain, London. Michael has established himself as one of the finest Irish artists of his generation, his main interests being landscapes, still life and portrait painting. He exhibits extensively throughout Ireland and the UK, and many of his images are held by private collectors of Irish art around the world. In 2012 a major retrospective of his work was held in his home town. In 2013 he was the invited artist for the Seamus Heaney Memorial Exhibition, ‘On Home Ground Festival’ Magherafelt. Michael now lives and works as an artist in London but he returns regularly to Ireland to paint the landscapes of his native county.
Education
1973/74 Foundation Studies, Coventry
1974/77 University of Ulster, Belfast
1977/79 Postgraduate Studies, Slade School of Fine Art, London
1979/80 Lecturer, National College of Art & Design, Dublin
1980/89 Visiting Lecturer University of Ulster, Belfast
1989/00 Part time teaching in London
Solo Exhibitions
1997 Elmwood Gallery, The Ulster Arts Club, Belfast
1995 One Oxford Street, Belfast
1995 Newry & Mourne Arts Centre, Portstewart
1995 Flowerfield arts Centre, Portstewart, Northern Ireland
1991 Northern Ireland Business Centre, London
1990 Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart, Northern Ireland
1988 Gallery 47, London
1977 The Octagon Gallery, Belfast
Group Exhibitions
2005/9 Mullan gallery Belfast
2001/09 Island Irish Art, Coleraine
2006/09 Laneside gallery ,Coleraine
2008 Boyle Arts Festival, invited artist.
2006 Wave Art Gala and Celebrity Event, City Hall, Belfast
2000/01 Steven Walton Fine Art, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
1998/99/00 Flowerfield Arts Centre - Caffery's Exhibition
1997 Tyrone Guthrie Regional Bursary Exhib/Event (Touring Exhib)
1995 One Oxford Street, Belfast
1992 Whitechapel Open Exhibition, London
Laing Collection Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London
Hunting/Observer Art Competition, London
1991 William Morris Gallery, London
1989 Laing Collection Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London
Cadogan Comtemporary Gallery, London
1988 Whitechapel Open Exhibition, London
1987 Hunting Group Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London
1986 Tom Caldwell Gallery, Belfast
Sally Hunter and Patrick Seale Fine Art, London
Bath Contemporary Art Fair
1985 Contemporary Portrait Society, London
Tom Caldwell Gallery, Belfast
Athena International Awards, london
Salley Hunter and Patrick Seale Fine Art, London
Bath Contemporary Art Fair
William Morris Gallery, London
1985 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London
1983 'Diversities', Ulster Polytechnic, Belfast
'Imaginative Looking', University of Lancaster
1982 London Group Exhibition, Camden Arts Centre
1982 The Hayward Annual, The Hayward Gallery London
1981 The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, London
1979 'Five Young Artists', Arts Council for Northern Ireland (Touring)
Collections
Ulster Investment Bank
Champney's Group, London
Arts Council of Northern Ireland
Department of the Environment
Belfast City Hospital
St Louise's Comprehensive College, Belfast
Private Collections in England, Ireland, U.S.A. and abroad
Awards
1996 The Tyrone Guthrie Centre Regional Bursary Award