Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh Photo © Amelia Stein
Recently elected ARHA Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh is proof that the outward appearance of Academicians may change but the concern with discipline remains constant, Niamh NicGhabhann reports
A conversation with Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh about painting is something of an education. This is, of course, to be expected, as her work has been at the centre of Irish painting for the past decade. Ní Mhaonaigh trained at DIT (Fine Art Painting) with figures like Anita Groener, Patrick Graham and Patricia Hurl, and has been represented by Kevin Kavanagh Gallery since graduation. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally, including exhibitions in Los Angeles, New York, and Madrid. She was awarded the RHA’s Hennessey Craig Scholarship and selected for the RHA Futures exhibition, and has been shortlisted for both the AIB Art Prize (Ireland), and the Marmite Prize for Painting (UK). This year, Ní Mhaonaigh’s Monument (initially titled Ardán V) was nominated for the prestigious John Moores Painting Prize, held as part of the Liverpool Biennial with an exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery (Fig 2).