Saoirse Radford graduated from Crawford College of Art & Design with a First Class Honours in Fine Art in 2023.

She is a practicing artist with a studio in Backwater Artist Studios. Her work consists of paintings using acrylic and acrylic mediums on a variety of scales.

She is a recipient of the 2023 Round 2 Agility Award from the Arts Council Ireland. Her work is held in collections such as MTU and Eli Lilly. She has recently taken part in a number of group exhibitions including the Lord Mayors Pavilion, Studio 12 and the Lavit Gallery. She is currently working in the Glucksman Gallery as a class facilitator and gallery assistant and preparing for her solo exhibition in Joan Clancy Gallery, June 26 - July 13, 2024.

Artist Statement
My work aims to investigate the unconscious mind by means of building a world separate to that of the logical mind. Through my work, I am attempting to create a dialogue between the conscious and unconscious self by using methods related to automatism, constantly stepping away and refreshing the way that I create images. I have been using dreams as a means of research. I analyse and transfer the imagery contained in my dream journal, allowing a language of symbolism to form from these images. I work in layers, sometimes hiding the earlier images completely, forming an intricate world of shapes and symbols, using a combination of both painting and drawing. My work has elements of abstraction and realism which express the fleeting images that pass as we dream. The fast and direct medium of drawing has helped me capture these elusive images. I have been researching Sigmund Freud's study of psychoanalysis and its subsequent effect on the Surrealist Movement from 1920-1950. Artists like Eileen Agar, Alice Rahon and Leonora Carrington have influenced me in understanding the complex value of dreams and symbolism through art.

Awards

• Backwater Artists Network Award
• Sample Studios Graduate Associate Award
• Material Store Backwater Residency
• MTU Purchase Prize
• Eli Lilly Purchase Prize
• Chapel Hill Exhibition Award
• Student Engagement Exhibition Award
• Lavit Gallery Graduate Group Exhibition
• Joan Clancy Gallery Solo Exhibition Award
• Long listed for the 2023 RDS Visual Art Awards