Willie Doherty (born 1959) is an artist from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, who has mainly worked in photography and video. He has twice been a

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award) ...

nominee.

Life and work

Doherty was born in Derry,

, and from 1978 to 1981 studied at

Ulster Polytechnic sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

. As a child he witnessed

Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...

in Derry, and many of his works deal with

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...

. Some of his pieces take images from the media and adapt them to his own ends. These works by Doherty explore the multiple meanings that a single image can have. Doherty has suggested that this interest may stem from his witnessing of Bloody Sunday and subsequent knowledge that many photos of the incident did not tell the whole truth. Some of Doherty's earliest works are of maps and similar images accompanied by texts in a manner similar to the land art of Richard Long, except that here the text sometimes seems to contradict the image. Doherty's video pieces are often projected in a confined space, giving a sense of

claustrophobia Claustrophobia is the fear of confined spaces. It can be triggered by many situations or stimuli, including elevators, especially when crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and hotel rooms with closed doors and sealed windows. Even bedrooms wit ...

. The videos themselves sometimes create a mood that has been compared to film noir. Doherty has acknowledged the importance of the Orchard Gallery in Derry as a venue where he could see modern art in his formative years. He was a participant in dOCUMENTA (13).

Collections

Doherty's work is held in the following permanent collections: *

Albright–Knox Art Gallery The Buffalo AKG Art Museum, formerly known as the Albright–Knox Art Gallery, is an art museum at 1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York, in Delaware Park. the museum's Elmwood Avenue campus is temporarily closed for construction. It hosted e ...

in Buffalo, New York *

Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Art ...

, Dallas, Texas * Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane, Dublin *

De Pont Museum of Contemporary Art De Pont Museum is a contemporary art museum in Tilburg, North Brabant, the Netherlands. De Pont has been named after the attorney and businessman Jan de Pont (1915-1987), whose estate provided for the establishment of a foundation to stimulate con ...

, Tilburg * The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin *

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, New York City *

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...

, London * The Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh * The Moderna Museet, Stockholm *

Kiasma ) , established = (Museum of Contemporary Art) (opening of Kiasma building) , dissolved = , location = Helsinki, Finland , type = Art museum , accreditation = , key_holdings = , co ...

, Helsinki *

De Appel De Appel is a contemporary arts centre, located in Amsterdam. Since it was founded in 1975 by , the goal of De Appel is to function as a stage for research and presentation of visual arts. Exhibitions, publications and discursive events are the m ...

, Amsterdam

Critical reception

Riann Coulter wrote in ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' that "Doherty is arguably the most significant Northern Irish artist of his generation." Aidan Dunne wrote in ''

'' that Doherty has a "big international reputation" and that his exhibition in June 2013 at Art Basel had been "impressive". National Museums Northern Ireland's Curator of Fine Art, Anne Stewart, said, "The Ulster Museum has long admired Willie Doherty, in particular the profoundly affecting ways in which his work explores themes of identity, territoriality and surveillance. His work frequently involves the layering of text and image, which creates a sense of ambiguity and plays on the viewer's prejudices and assumptions.”

References

External links

Kerlin Gallery: Willie DohertyMatt's Gallery: Willie DohertyDerry-Londonderry City of Culture 2013: Willie Doherty
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doherty, Willie 1959 births Living people Artists from Northern Ireland Video artists from Northern Ireland Aosdána members Artists from Derry (city) Alumni of Ulster University

Life and work

Collections

Critical reception

See also

References

External links