Alice Maher (b.1956)

The Irish expressionist painter and sculptor Alice Maher was born in County Tipperary. After taking a BA in European Studies at the University of Limerick, Maher studied drawing and painting at the Crawford College of Art in Cork. Later she received an M.A. in fine arts from the University of Ulster, and then, in 1987, won a Fulbright scholarship to the San Francisco Art Institute. As well as drawing and painting in oils and other media, Maher often creates works with materials like hair and rope, exploring themes of memory and identity.

Mound. 2003

Alice Maher is a member of a new generation of Irish female artists whose interests include effecting changes in what they consider to be a male-dominated establishment (eg. the Royal Hibernian Academy has traditionally been slow to admit women despite the preponderance of female talent in artist organisations such as the Society of Dublin Painters and the Irish Exhibition of Living Art). Maher's art may be somewhat "subversive" but it remains highly personal. It expresses her own doubts, dreams and memories of childhood, rather than dogmatic political views. In her own singular fashion, Maher continues the work of previous female painters like Mary Swanzy, Mainie Jellet and Evie Hone.

Berry Dress. 1994

She has exhibited widely in Ireland, Europe and the United States, and represented Ireland at the 1994 Sao Paulo Bienale. In 2001, "The History of Tears" was shown at the Purdy Hicks Gallery, London; the Butler Gallery, Kilkenny Castle; and the Green on Red Gallery, Dublin, where she also held on-person exhibitions shows in 1997 and 1995. Other Maher solo shows have been held at the Green on Red Gallery, Dublin (2005; Purdy Hicks Gallery, London (2003); Nolan Eckman Gallery, New York (2000); Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery, Dublin (1999); Ecôle Vincent Van Gogh, Paris (1998); Poitiers, France (1997); Le Credac Centre d'Art, Ivry-sûr-Seine, Paris (1996); Old Museum Arts Centre, Belfast; and Belltable Arts Centre, Limerick (1991 and 1988).

Alice Maher's paintings and artworks are held by several public and private collections, including the National Self-Portrait Collection, University of Limerick. She is a member of Aosdana.

More Information About Contemporary Visual Arts

• For details of other painters and sculptors from Ireland, see: Irish Artists: Paintings and Biographies.
• For more about contemporary art in Ireland, see: Irish Art Guide.

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