Siobhan Hapaska

Siobhán Hapaska’s sculptures present a powerful investigation of conflict, faith and the human condition. Her work uses a dazzling array of materials, each loaded with history and multiple readings: olive trees, deerskins, coconuts, wheat, moss and sheepskin come into contact with sleek aerodynamic forms, aluminium, engines, artillery, concrete cloth and industrial machinery. Ushering these disparate materials into forms that feel anthropomorphic or animalistic, the resulting works spark humour and pathos, reflecting upon our place in a world filled with violent opposing forces and conflicting ideologies.

Siobhán Hapaska 
Sunlight, 2004
fiberglass, two pack acrylic paint, spent cartridges, wheat, edition of 3 
103 x 84 x 88 cm / 40.6 x 33.1 x 34.6 in 
Images courtesy of the artist and Kerlin Gallery


Collection of The Arts Council of Ireland

Survey

  • Snake and Apple, 2018

    aluminium, artificial snakeskin, fibreglass, stainless steel, two-pack acrylic paint, lacquer
    250 x 215 x 205 cm / 98.4 x 84.6 x 80.7 in 

  • Documenta X, 1997

  • Mule, 1997

    "Sense and Suggestion", Williams College Museum of Art, Massachusetts, USA, 2019

  • Medici Lion, 2023

    polylactic acid, paint, buckles, white marble stone, vinyl print, audio, dimensions variable.

Biography

Siobhán Hapaska has had recent solo exhibitions at the Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (2023-24); Kunstmuseum St Gallen, Switzerland (2020); and John Hansard Gallery, University of Southampton (2019). Her work has been exhibited at MoMA Ps1, New York; Serpentine Gallery, London; Espace Louis Vuitton, Paris; Singapore Art Museum; Museu de Arte de São Paulo, and in solo presentations at Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall; Museum Boijmans Van Beuingan, Rotterdam; the Barbican, Camden Arts Centre and the ICA in London. She has participated in major international exhibitions including Documenta X, the British Art Show, Glasgow International, and the 49th and 56th Venice Biennales. Collections include Hirshhorn, Washington; MIT, Cambridge; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Tate, London; Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; The National Gallery of Ireland; Arts Council of Ireland; Arts Council of Northern Ireland; Ulster Museum, Belfast; Kunstmuseum St.Gallen; Magasin III, Stockholm Konsthall; Moderna Museet, Stockholm; Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam; Museum of Contemporary Art, Shenzhen, China and LOEWE.