Become a My Ocula member for exclusive access to contemporary art and personalised artist recommendations.
Join Us Sign In
The Art World in Focus
Clear
Justin Fitzpatrick

JUSTIN FITZPATRICK

A Musical Instrument Kerlin Gallery 24 October–23 November 2024 Dublin
Overview Artworks Location
Request Prices & Availability
Press Release

In Fitzpatrick’s paintings, figurative forms appear enmeshed within complex systems of processes, sounds, memories, and ideas. Bodies morph into musical and mechanical apparatus, while objects become animated or anthropomorphic. In one painting, a human heart is swapped for a glass armonica, an 18th-century instrument with melancholic tones once thought to induce madness. In another, a masked figure plucks at the strings of a suspension bridge, becoming a self-playing Aeolian harp.

The title A Musical Instrument references a poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, in which the pagan god Pan transforms a reed from the riverbed into a panpipe, not knowing the pain caused by ‘Making a poet out of a man’. Music-playing, and by extension, all creative expression, is positioned as something mediumistic, involuntary, and yet also a source of struggle. In Fitzpatrick’s paintings, however, it also appears to foster a kind of connectivity: spines become injected with musical notes; bodies seem to communicate through diagrammatic wave particles; tangled webs of veins, nerves, and arteries imply a porosity of self, a consciousness that expands beyond our physical bodies.

Read More

Installation Views

Also Exhibiting at Kerlin Gallery

All Exhibitions
Siobhán Hapaska Kerlin Gallery 4 June–11 July 2026 Dublin
About the Gallery

Kerlin Gallery was founded in Dublin in 1988. It has built an international reputation for its dedicated, meaningful representation of leading contemporary artists through its exhibition, publishing and art fair programmes. Its current site was designed by the minimalist architect John Pawson in 1994 and offers 3,600 square feet of exhibition space over two floors in the heart of Dublin City Centre.

View Gallery Profile
Address
Anne's Lane
South Anne Street
Dublin
Ireland
Opening Hours
Tuesday – Friday, 10am – 5:30pm
Saturday, 11am – 4:30pm
(1)
Dublin Anne's Lane, South Anne Street
Kerlin Gallery contemporary art gallery in Dublin Ireland
Kerlin Gallery
Anne's Lane, South Anne Street, Dublin, Ireland
+35 316 709 093
http://www.kerlin.ie

Opening hours
Tuesday – Friday, 10am – 5:30pm
Saturday, 11am – 4:30pm
Magazine Gallery Platform Advisory
Ocula Magazine

A respected voice in contemporary art discourse.

Focusing on ambitious storytelling and insightful art-world commentary. Ocula Magazine publishes in-depth interviews, critical essays and timely analysis on the artists, exhibitions and ideas driving the global art world.

 Learn more about Ocula Magazine Learn more about Ocula Magazine Ocula Gallery Platform

Showcasing the best of the art world.

Ocula partners with galleries from around the world to highlight their artists, artworks and exhibitions. Gallery membership is by application and invitation, with each member vetted by an independent panel.

 Learn more about Ocula Membership Learn more about Ocula Membership Ocula Advisory

Specialises in the sale of major artworks.

Led by a team with deep ties to the world’s leading auction houses, galleries and collectors. Ocula’s advisory team offers bespoke services to high-net-worth clients from around the world who are looking to acquire the best of contemporary and modern art.

 Learn more about our team and services Learn more about Ocula Advisory
The art world in focus