Francis Tansey (b.1959)

The contemporary Irish abstract painter Francis Tansey was born in Dublin in 1959. He studied at the National College of Art and Design in (1978-1983). Specializing in abstract art, in 1985 he became the first Artist in Residence, at Butler Gallery, County Kilkenny, where his brightly coloured geometric acrylic painting caused great interest.

When the internationally acclaimed abstract artist Sean Scully saw Tansey’s work exhibited for the first time in a 1983 NCAD Degree Show, he called Tansey one of the most exciting prospects in Irish art.

Study in Blue (2006)

Tansey's paintings have immense visual power. He typically uses rollers as well as brushes to apply acrylic co-polymer paints in countless thin layers until the desired colour saturation is achieved, utilizing tape to achieve ultra-crisp edges.

In their expression of spacial relationships and juxtapositioning of colour, they have several characteristics in common with the Abstract Expressionists Mondrian and Rothko.

Since he began painting full-time, Francis Tansey has shown his works in numerous solo and group exhibitions, and his work is in the collections of the Ulster Museum, the Arts Council of Ireland, Jefferson Smurfit Group, AIB and many other corporate and private collections.

Translucent Structure (1989)

His shows include: National College of Art and Design Degree Exhibition, Dublin (1983); Summer Exhibition of Gallery Artists, Solomon Gallery, Dublin (1984); Solo Exhibition, Solomon Gallery, Dublin (1985); International Contemporary Art Fair, Olympia, London (1986); Irish Representative, International Festival of Painting, Cagnes-Sur-Mer, France (1986); Solo Exhibition, Solomon Gallery, London (1986); Two man show (with Michael Warren), Solomon Gallery, Dublin (1986); Nine Kilkenny Artists, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (1987); The Riggs Gallery, Le Jolla, California, USA (1987); Solo Exhibition, Solomon Gallery, London (1987); Irish Representative, Rose International Exhibition of Art, Dublin (1988); Aer Rianta Annual Exhibition, Dublin Airport, Dublin (1989); 'Images from Ireland' Brussels (1989); Solo Exhibition, Solomon Gallery, Dublin (1990); New Acquisitions, Ulster Museum, Belfast (1992); Aer Rianta Annual Exhibition, Dublin Airport (1992); "Geometrics" group show, Bistango Gallery, Irvine, California, USA (1992); "Abstract Prospectus" International Group Show, L.A. Art Core, Los Angeles, USA (1992); Solo Exhibition, Solomon Gallery, Dublin (1992); LACA, Los Angeles Contemporary Art Exhibition, Group Exhibition (1993); Group Show, Chicago Group Show, Pizzaro Design, Malibu, USA (1994); "Real or Unreal", James O'Donoghue Gallery, Kilkenny Arts Week, Kilkenny (1994); 1995 One man show, Max Factor Building, Wilshire, Brentwood Plaza, LA, USA (1995); Solo Exhibition, Solomon Gallery, Dublin (1995); "Kilkenny Colorists", Group show, Market Cross Co. Kilkenny (1995); Rianta 10 Year Retrospective Exhibition, Dublin Airport (1997); Contemporary Kilkenny Artists, Waterford Regional Hospital, Waterford (1998); Solo Exhibition, Grosvenor Gallery, Dublin (1999).

More Information About Visual Arts in Ireland

• For details of other abstract painters and sculptors, see: Irish Artists: Paintings and Biographies.
• For more about non-naturalistic art in Ireland, see: Irish Art Guide.

• NOTE: To update Francis Tansey's biography, click Here.