Overview

Richard Hearns is an Irish painter working in the Burren, County Clare. He is known for both his figurative still life paintings and large-scale gestural abstractions, where composition, materiality, and mark-making take centre stage.

 

His practice is rooted in physicality, driven by a need to connect and leave an impression of life energy. A background in representational painting informs his abstract work, which balances discipline with spontaneity. Charcoal lines carve space, enclose shapes, and create movement, while subtle framing devices and carefully structured compositions guide the viewer’s eye.

 

Born in Beirut in 1980 and adopted into Ireland, Hearns carries a dual heritage that shapes his artistic identity. His work exists between cultures and histories, forming a unique visual language influenced by the landscape in which he now creates. The Burren’s raw, ancient presence acts as both setting and source, its rhythms echoing in the flow of his gestures.

 

Hearns’ paintings evoke a sense of wonder and possibility, offering a visceral experience that connects the viewer to something larger. His intention is to create works that enrich lives visually, emotionally, and creatively, engaging with the fundamental act of creation itself.

 

In his most recent body of paintings, Hearns has been exploring the concept of thresholds through imaginary landscapes, employing prismatic colour to evoke realms felt beyond the everyday.

Works
Exhibitions
Studio shots
Publications
Video


Biography

Having studied in Dublin at The Institute of Art, Design and Technology and The National College of Art and Design, Richard's talent for drawing and line work led to a keen interest in observational painting. Though executed in a variety of media, his works are primarily oil based. In more recent years, Richard has turned his attention to abstract painting. These works have brought an entirely new discipline and challenge to his practice. Richard has been exhibiting for over a decade and, to date, has had solo shows in Dublin, London, Paris, Barcelona, Los Angeles and New York. His work can be found in important collections around the globe.

 

 
Education 
2004   H DIP Art Craft and Design Education NCAD, Dublin, Ireland.
2002   BFA Fine Art Interdisciplinary Digital Media IADT, Dublin, Ireland.
2001   DIPLOMA Fine Art Interdisciplinary Digital Media IADT, Dublin, Ireland.

 

Selected Solo Exhibitions
2024   'The Living Mountain', Cadogan Gallery, Milan, Italy.
2023   'Sheshia Retrospective', Clare, Ireland.
2022   'Nomad', Cadogan Gallery, London, UK.
2021  

'Enclave', Cadogan Gallery, London, UK.

2018  

'The Cardinal's Portrait', The Sheen Centre for Thought and Culture, New York, USA.

2014   'Raw/Cooked: Last of the Summer Mackerel', Galerie La Cornue, Paris, France.
2012    'Paintings by Richard Hearns', Offices of the Cardinal of New York, New York, USA.
2007   'Towards an Island', Wonksiri Gallery, Koh Mak, Trad Provience, Thailand.

 

Selected Group Exhibitions
2023   'Summer Exhibition', Cadogan Gallery, London, UK.
2022   Sotheby's New Bond Street Galleries, London, UK.
    'Groundzero360', Houston Baptist Universty, Houston, Texas, USA.
2017   ‘Iomramh’, Espronceda Center for Arts and Culture, Barcelona, Spain.
2014   'Kunstler International Symposium: Group Exhibition', Villa Bohm, Neustradt an der Weinstrasse, Germany.
2013   VUE, Royal Hibernian Academy, Gallagher Gallery, 15 Ely Place, Dublin, Ireland.

 

Artist Residencies and Awards 
2015   Assistant to Associate Professor of Abstract Painting at the Kunstakademie, Bad Reichenhall, Germany.
    Selected to present work to the Prince of Wales on behalf of the Burren College of Art and NUI Galway, .
    Ireland.
    Artist in residence, Nave 12, Barcelona, Spain.
2014   International Artist Symposium, City of Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Germany.
2012   The Art Students League of New York, USA.
2011   Artist in residence, Custom House Studios, Westport Quay, Co. Mayo, Ireland.
    Fingal County Enterprise Board, Export Grant Initiative Award, Ireland.
    Officially sponsored by Richard Oliver Fine Art Brushes, Ireland.
2009-10   Artist in residence, Cill Rialaig Foundation, Bolas Head, Co. Kerry.
2008   Artist in residence, The Burren College of Art, Ballyvaughan, Co. Clare.
2006   Artist in residence, The Mantua Art Project, Mantua Co. Roscommon.

 

 Collections
Irish State Collection
Galgorm Group, N. IRE
St Patrick's Cathedral, NYC
Naomi House Children's Hospice, UK
Aston Wealth Management, IRE
ITC company, IRE
SEPIL, IRE
Press