Multi-award winning Irish artist John Keating has been chosen by an international jury to exhibit his work at the 6th Biennale D’Arte International of Monte Carlo in Monaco next month.
Originally from Tipperary but now living in Dublin, Mr Keating got a massive career boost two years ago when he won a gold medal for a painting exalting the Olympic spirit.
His oil on canvas Oriental Lilies, was among 500 contemporary works of art of the highest aesthetic and technical levels exhibited at the Barbican Centre in London in 2012 under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee.
After his Olympic win, Mr Keating went on to show his work at the Water Cube Cup International Painting Exhibition in Beijing, China, where he was awarded the Water Cube Cup.
The fine artist is currently exhibiting Works on Paper, at an international exhibition in Milan, Italy. His work is a large-scale torso drawing on handmade paper.
Mr Keating, 61, said he was no stranger to Monte Carlo — he won an award at the XXI Prix Internationale of Monte Carlo in 1987.
“I have come full circle now and it happened, not by design, but a series of one thing leading to another,” said Mr Keating.
“It was not something that was planned out — sometimes you have no idea what is going to happen next.”
However, the artist has found his career progressing at a much quicker pace since his Olympic win, which will see his work being part of a permanent collection in Beijing.
Mr Keating said his life had become a fast-moving canvas, but at the end of the day, he was back on his own in his studio setting new challenges.
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