Genieve Figgis is an Irish artist known for both the boldness of her colors and the boldness of her brushstrokes. BUST features her in the upcoming April/May magazine in “Parting Glance.”
Genieve Figgis, Acrylic on canvas
Figgis always knew she wanted to be an artist, but attended art school at the age of 30 after starting a family, according to an interview with Broadly. Proof that it’s never too late to pursue your passion. She got her big break when she posted her work on social media, and the galleries caught up soon after.
Genieve Figgis, Acrylic on canvas
Figgis’ work takes mainstream art history — which is predominantly white, male, and upper class — and distorts it. She does portraiture, but makes it her own. The scenes she paints come straight out of the world captured in roccoco paintings: aristocratic and idyllic. She challenges these familiar subjects with the unpredictability inherent in the medium of painting, heaping paint onto the canvas and experimenting with pouring and other techniques. Scenes once commissioned by the wealthy to immortalize their status become nightmarish fever dreams.
Genieve Figgis, Acrylic on canvas
Genieve Figgis, Acrylic on canvas
These paintings will be featured in the Dallas Art Fair by the Half Gallery April 13-15. You can follow Genieve Figgis on Twitter and Instagram.
Top image “The Toilet of Venus After Boucher” by Genieve Figgis, Acrlyic on canvas, 50 x 40 x 4 cm, 2018 courtesy of the artist
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