Sean Fingleton was born in Co. Donegal, in 1950. The artist undertook a double curriculum: he read English and Philosophy at University College Dublin and studied art at Letterkenny Regional Technical College and the National College of Art and Design.
The artist perfectly incarnates the contemporary late 20th century resurgence of landscape painting. His approach to landscape follows the general reappropriation of the subject by younger generations: a subjective and interpretive documentation of scenery that forgoes the now-historic advances of impressionism to explore new representative avenues. Fingleton, for example, uses boldly expressive colour schemes and lines, his technique usually complementing his subject. Thick paint conveys the sea’s back and forth momentum, pastels capture the transparent sway of high grass and dark shading suggests the sturdiness of rock formations. The sensory connection – which has dictated much of the landscape representation since the end of the 19th century – remains present, however, and is ensured through outdoor painting sessions. From painting to pastels, Fingleton produced a collection of sketchbooks in 2019 capturing the sights of Donegal, the loughs of Cavan, the area of Islandbridge on the outskirts of Dublin city and the Burren.
Recent exhibitions include: The Sean Fingleton Collection – Work on Loan, Letterkenny Institute of Technology, 2019; Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition, 2019; Summer Exhibition, Taylor Galleries, 2018; Facing West, Boyle Arts Festival, 2017; Finders and Keepers, Municipal Gallery, DLR Lexicon, Dún Laoghaire, 2015; and Winter Exhibition, Taylor Galleries, 2015. Sean Fingleton is a founder and member of Temple Bar Gallery + Studios.
Fingleton received the Royal Hibernian Academy’s Fergus O’Ryan Award in 1983 and the Guinness Peat Aviation Award for Emerging Artists in 1986.