John Behan RHA, 'Westport Famine Ship III', 2018.
New sculptures in bronze by John Behan, one of Ireland’s most celebrated living sculptors. Now in his 86th year, the artist has spent the last three decades observing and exploring themes around emigration and the global displacement of people. Using the Irish Famine as a starting point, his most recent works highlight the ongoing plight of present-day refugees/migrants in Ukraine, Greece, Syria and more recently those affected by the catastrophic situation in Gaza.
John Behan RHA is firmly established as a sculptor of international stature and can be credited with playing a major part in the development of sculpture in Ireland over the last fifty years. Born in Dublin in 1938, he has been awarded many honours over the years and became a member of the Royal Hibernian Academy in 1990, having been an Associate of the Academy since 1973. He is also a member of Aosdána and was conferred an honorary Doctor of Literature by NUI Galway in 2000.