Crisps, toilet-paper, plastic bags, packaging, rubbish, furniture are some of the unexpected materials brought into conversation with certain modes of art production and display, in work which continually explores the nature of representation, consumerism, visual hierarchy and ideas of value.
Caroline McCarthy was born in Dublin and studied at the National College of Art and Design, 1994 (BAHons), Dublin; and Goldsmiths College 1998 (MAFA), London.
Her work has been exhibited widely, with solo shows including Green on Red, Dublin; Gimpel Fils, London; Hoet Bekaert, Ghent; Parker's Box Gallery, New York; Limericj City Art Gallery; Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin; Gasworks, London; Void Gallery, Derry; and Bugdahn und Kaimer, Dusseldorf.
Group shows include Europe Exists, curated by Rosa Martinez and Harald Szeemann, MMCA, Greece (2003); East End Academy, Whitechapel Gallery, London (2004); To Be Continued, curated by The British Council, Helsinki Kunsthalle, Finland (2005); (Z)art curated by Jan Hoet, AbtArt, Stuttgart (2010); Group Coordination, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (2014); and Dismaland, curated by Banksy, Somerset, UK (2015).
She has also worked on a number of large-scale public projects including a commission for King's College London with the Contemporary Art Society and a citywide project for the Norfolk and Norwich Festival.
Her work is included in the collections of The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Allied Irish Bank, Arts Council of Ireland, Office of Public Works, Zabludowicz Collection, Berge Madrid and private collections.
Lives and works in London, UK.
* = accompanying catalogue / publication / commissioned text
2015 USELESS, Green on Red Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
2013 From One End To The Other, various venues, Norwich, UK *
2011 Made to Measure, Parker’s Box Gallery, New York, USA
2011 Arrangements, Green on Red Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
2010 Light For Cicely, CSI, King's College London, UK *
2008 paintings, Hoet Bekaert Gallery, Ghent, Belgium
2008 (Luxury), Gimpel Fils Gallery, London, UK
2007 Grand Detour, Galerie Bugdahn und Kaimer, Düsseldorf, Germany
2006 Grand Detour, Parker’s Box, New York, USA *
2006 There, Void Gallery, Derry, Northern Ireland
2004 Windowall, Public Commission, Letterkenny, Ireland
2003 Springs Eternal, Hammer Sidi, London, UK
2003 Caroline McCarthy, Limerick City Art Gallery, Ireland
2002 The Glow is Fading, Gasworks, London, UK *
2002 Port Sunlight, Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin, Ireland *
2002 Caroline McCarthy, Parker’s Box, New York, USA
1996 In Retrospect, Basement Gallery, Dundalk, Ireland
Selected Group Exhibitions
2015 Dismaland, curated by Banksy, Weston super Mare, UK *
2015-17 Nature Morte, touring, curated by Michael Petry, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, UK *
2014 Group Coordination, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
2014 Of and For, CASS, London Metropolitan University, London, UK
2013 Vexed Endings, Green On Red Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
2013 Works on Paper, i8 Gallery, Reykjavik, Iceland *
2013 Believing (in) objects, House project, London, UK
2013 Encounters, OPW Collection touring to Derry, Lisburn, Cork and Limerick, Ireland *
2012 The Curator’s Egg, Altera Pars, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London, UK
2012 Vexed Endings, Green On Red Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
2012 Showtime, Hoet Bekaert Gallery, Ghent, Belgium
2012 Quantum Jumping, (curated by Niru Ratnam), Cock n Bull Gallery, London, UK
2011Hints Of The Outside World, SOMA, Waterford, Ireland
2011Collecting For Ireland, (curated by Ruairí Ó Cuív) The Hunt Museum, Limerick, Ireland *
2010 WNTRSLN, Parker’s Box, New York, USA
2010 Renewing, Green on Red Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
2010 Meer, Voorkammer, Antwerp, Belgium
2010 Making Nature, (cur. by Gemma Tipton), Rubicon Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
2010 Review, Gimpel Fils Gallery, London, UK
2010 10 years Hunting, Parker's Box Gallery, New York, USA
2010 Altered Images, touring show of work from the IMMA Collection, various venues, Ireland *
2009 z(art), (cur. by Jan Hoet), AbtArt Gallery, Stuttgart, Germany *
2009 Space Invader, (cur. by Niru Ratnam), Aicon Gallery, London, UK
2009 Noughties But Nice, Limerick City Art Gallery (and touring), Limerick, Ireland *
2009 Exquisite Corpse, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
2009 Covet, (cur. by Suzanne Mooney), Plan 9, Bristol, UK
2008 Gala Triangle 2008, Triangle France, Marseilles, France
2008 Embedded, Gimpel Fils Gallery, London, UK
2008 Materials and Mentalities, (cur. by Ian Russell), UCD, Dublin, Ireland
2008 To Lo, Part 2 (cur. by Saki Satom), Stephen Lawrence Gallery, London, UK *
2007 To Lo, Part 1 (cur. by S.Satom), Space Kobo & Tomo, Tokyo, Japan *
2007 Open, Hoet Bekaert Gallery, Ghent , Belgium
2007 Art Futures, Bloomsberg, London, UK
2007 De Gustibus, ING Kortrijk, (V.VanDurme), Brussels, Belgium *
2007 Real Writer’s Residency, g39, Cardiff, Wales, UK
2007 The Troubled Waters Of Permeability!, Parker’s Box Gallery, New York, USA
2006 Failure, (cur. by Mike Fitzpatrick), Butler House, Kilkenny, Ireland
2006 Double Take, Schroeder Romero Gallery, New York, USA
2006 The Square Root of Drawing, Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
2006 Metropolis Rise: New Art from London (cur.by A.Gross & J.Wu), Shanghai, China *
2005 To Be Continued…, (British Council), Helsinki Kunsthalle, Finland *
2005 Variety, (Commission) DeLaWarr Pavilion, Bexhill, UK *
2005 Use This Kind of Sky, (cur.by Eachus/Farhid), Keith Talent Gallery, London, UK
2005 Siar 50 – fifty years of contemporary Irish Art, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland *
2005 International Exhibitionist, Screening, Curzon Soho Cinema, London, UK
2005 England Their England, (cur.by R.Downes), Nichts Fur Laden, Germany
2005 Brit Povera, (cur.by R.Downes), Galerie Krinzinger, Vienna, Austria
2005 In(tensions), Hoet Bekaert Gallery, Ghent, Belgium
2005 The Poster Show, (cur.by LOT), Bristol, UK
2005 Out of the Ordinary, Travelling Gallery, Scotland
2004 East End Academy, Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, UK *
2004 Screening, (cur.by Artprojx), Prince Charles Cinema, London, UK
2004 Draught, (cur.by O.Bjornsdottir), Klink and Bank Project Space, Reykjavik, Iceland
2004 The Morning After the Night Before, Parker’s Box Gallery, New York, USA
2004 September, Green on Red Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
2004 Tonight, (cur.by P.O’Neill), Studio Voltaire, London, UK
2004 Views from an Island, Shanghai Art Museum, Shanghai, China
2003 Europe Exists, (cur.by R. Martinez / H.Szeemann), MMCA, Thessaloniki, Greece *
2003 Under Different Circumstances, (cur.by T.Bundgaard), Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark *
2003 Permaculture, (cur. by G. Watson & V. Claffey), Project, Dublin, Ireland
2003 I Saw Your Lips Move, (cur.by L.Seers), Cell Projects, London, UK
2003 The Unblinking Eye, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland
2002 CMYK/Greyscale, (cur.by R.G. Nesbitt), Tramway, Glasgow (also RHA, Dublin), Scotland *
2002 Everything To Lose, La Friche, Marseilles/ Gasworks, London, UK
2002 Now is the Time, (cur.by K. Freed), Dorsky Project Space, New York, USA *
2002 Neverland, (cur.by M.Oeschler), Cell Projects, London, UK
2002 New, Green on Red Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
2002 RHA Summer Show, RHA, Dublin, Ireland *
2002 Sitting Tenant, (cur.by A. Vickery), Lotta Hammer’s House, London, UK
2001Tirana Biennale, (UK cur. by P. Ellis), Tirana, Albania *
2001Enter, (cur. by J.Maier), Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany
2001All That is Solid, London Print Gallery Studio, London, UK
2001Break in Theatre, (cur. by S. Satom), Kojimachi Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2000 Art of the World, (sel.by Circa mag.), Pont Alexandre III, Paris, France*
2000 Tourist Conspiracy Project, (cur.by J.Offerman) De Fabrik, Eindhoven, Netherlands
2000 NowHere, Rubicon Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
2000 EV+A, (cur.by R.Martinez),Limerick City Art Gallery, Ireland *
2000 In Search of Experience – Reconsidering the Readymade, (cur.by F. Jones), Green on Red, Dublin, Ireland
2000 From the Poetic to the Political - Irish Art Now, IMMA collection touring USA *
2000 Include Me Out, (cur. by UNIT), disused shop, London, UK
1999 In-Consistency, (cur.by P.O’Neill), Arthur R.Rose, London, UK
1999 Cabin Fever, Herold Gallery, Bremen, Germany
1999 Victor Treacy Award Exhibition, (sel.by D. Godbold), Butler Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland
1999 Very Gloomy, curated by UNIT, Mota Gallery, London, UK
1999 Everyday Living, Tablet Gallery London + RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
1998 Insignificants, The Old Chocolate Factory, Malmo, Sweden
1998 Multiples, Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
1998 Postneoamateurism, New Work U.K., (cur.by UNIT), Chisenhale Gallery, London, UK
1998 Return to sender, (cur.by Busqeda Box), Ireland / Australia *
1997Outside, Douglas Hyde Gallery, (cur.by A.Fletcher), Dublin, Ireland *
Publications:
Solo:
Light For Cicely, published by the Contemporary Art Society, 2010, 978-0-9517550-8-2
Caroline McCarthy, Gasworks Gallery London, 2003, ISBN 0954578724
Caroline McCarthy, Temple Bar Gallery, 2002, ISBN 190385022
Selected Group:
Art & Architecture of Ireland, Vol.5: 20th Century, Catherine Marshall / Peter Murray (eds)
Nature Morte, by Michael Petry, Published by Thames & Hudson, 2013, ISBN 9780500239063
Works On Paper, published by i8 Gallery, 2013, ISBN 9789935420367
Creative Ireland, by Noel Kelly / Sean Kissane, published by Visual Artists Ireland, 2011, ISBN 978-1907683114
Dictionary of Living Irish Artists, by Robert O’Byrne, Plurabelle Publishing, 2010, ISBN 9780956301109
Z(art), edited by Jan Hoet, published by AbtArt gallery, 2009, ISBN 9783942102001
New Art From London, by Chris Townsend, published by Thames & Hudson, 2006, ISBN 050028606X
To Be Continued, published by the British Council, 2005, ISBN 0863555489
The Collection, published by Irish Museum of Modern Art, 2005, ISBN 1903811481
East End Academy, published by the Whitechapel Art Gallery, 2004, ISBN 0854881379
Europe Exists, by Rosa Martinez / Harald Szeemann (eds), Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art, 2003
