Rita Duffy RUA
Rita Duffy was born in 1959 in Belfast. She received a B.A. at the Art & Design Centre and a M.A. in Fine Art at the University of Ulster. She is one of Northern Ireland’s groundbreaking artists who began her work concentrating primarily on the figurative/narrative tradition. Her art is often autobiographical, including themes and images of Irish identity, history and politics. Duffy’s work has grown and evolved but remains intensely personal with overtones of the surreal. Homage is paid to the language of magic realism and always there is exquisite crafting of materials. She has initiated several major collaborative art projects and was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Society of Architects, for her developmental work within the built environment. She is an associate at the Goldsmiths College, London and collaborated on an artistic exchange with Argentina and N. Ireland, looking at the role art has in post conflict societies. She held a Leverhulme Fellowship with the Transitional Justice Institute at the University of Ulster and in 2013 was awarded the prestigious Pollack Krausner Award. Her Belfast studio practice of 25 years designed and developed numerous, acclaimed exhibitions and public art projects. Her work continues to grow and question issues of identity in a new location on the Irish border, there is increasing preoccupation with international themes. Duffy’s work is being increasingly collected at home and abroad with work in numerous public and private collections. Represented by the Pyms Gallery, London.