John Behan, R.H.A.

Galway, Kenny Gallery, John Behan: Bulls, Boats, Goats, September 2006.

In good overall condition.
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Conceived in 2006, the present work is unique.

Behan first met Seamus Heaney when they were members of the Arts Council in the early 1970s and they subsequently became good friends. In 1985, Behan illustrated Heaney's From the Republic of Conscience, which was published in Dublin for Amnesty International.  Heaney aptly surmised at the opening of Behan's May 1998 exhibition at the Kenny Gallery, Galway, that Behan 'has made a mark in our collective imagination...[the sculptures] are produced by somebody who knows the behaviour of bronze as it was known in the workshops of Rodin and Michelangelo...'.

Born in Dublin and trained at the N.C.A.D., Dublin, Ealing Art College, London and The Royal Academy Schools, London, Behan has been one of the driving forces behind the development of sculpture in Ireland during the last 50 years. He has had numerous solo exhibitions at galleries such as The Project Arts Centre, Dublin; The Kenny Art Gallery, Galway and the Emmet Gallery, Dublin and major public commissions include his monumental Coffin Ship at Croagh Patrick and Arrival at the United Nations Plaza in New York. His work is also held in the collections of The Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane and the Arts Council of Ireland amongst many others.