Max HeyraudDublin-based painter Carl Hickey brings his exhibition Double Swan to The Horse this Thursday, October 9th. The show runs until November 1st at the gallery’s Bethesda Place location.
The Dublin maverick has named the exhibition after the Dublin 22 postcode. Double Swan is a body of work rooted in Clondalkin, the neighbourhood where Hickey grew up and still lives. Known across the city for his raw, street-level depictions of urban life and its visceral energy, Hickey turns his focus inward for this latest series, capturing the quieter, more reflective corners of his home turf.
Working in oil and using traditional methods, Hickey reconstructs familiar Dublin scenes with a sense of immediacy and emotional truth. His earlier work often depicted charged moments, flashes of resistance, heat and tension. In Double Swan, that intensity simmers down. The works are still, atmospheric, “the exhaust from the action,” as Hickey puts it.
Pieces like The Hot Corner and The Goal a Bad Pilot Broke transform everyday Clondalkin landmarks into almost cinematic stills, while Through the Gap and Neighbours and Nails explore local intimacy and personal connection, including a portrait of Hickey’s mother having her nails done outside their home.
Born in Dublin in 1998, Hickey graduated from NCAD in 2022, receiving the Dean Residency Award for his graduate show. He has since exhibited at Liberty Ink, Atelier Now, and Hypha Studios in London, and published From the Top Deck of the Bus with Driftwood Editions. Earlier this year, he completed a residency with Cill Rialaig Arts in Co. Kerry.
Founded in 2021, The Horse is an artist-run contemporary art space in Dublin 1, supporting emerging and underrepresented voices across visual and experimental practices.
Double Swan opens October 9th at The Horse, 3 Bethesda Place, Dublin, and runs until November 1st, 2025.
