Gemma Gallagher has been nominated by Michael Glover, the art critic of The Independent as the most promosing young artist in the UK for 2010. (Please see the article via the link below.)

A recent Fine Art graduate from The University of Arts London, Gemma Gallagher has exhibited internationally. She now works between Belfast and London and her work is held in private collections throughout Ireland, London and New York.

Gallagher made history in Belfast in 2008 by transforming one of the city’s famous landmarks, The Crumlin Road Gaol into a gallery space for her first major exhibition, ‘Trapped’. In 2009 she set up Belfast's first 'pop-up' gallery in an empty retail unit in Royal Avenue where she exhibited her own work, as well as providing a platform for young local graduates to exhibit their work. A former representative for the Saatchi Gallery Online, she has also undertaken internships at the prestigious White Box Contemporary Art Space, New York, and the internationally renowned Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Gallagher's work primarily takes the form of painting, but also crosses the boundaries into print, photography and sculpture. She has dedicated the last number of years to producing critically engaging work, addressing both social and political issues resulting in both conceptually and aesthetically challenging pieces of work. Her abilities in painting are demonstrated through her evocative compositions, which display an importance placed on the painted surface.

‘I want my paintings to communicate to people, to tell a story, present them with something new. I feel that work which is aesthetically engaging is an important element to any artwork and a critical way to engage and entice viewers.’

Gallagher's most recent body of work, ‘A Troubled Romance’ explores the romanticism of conflict and war. With inspiration including the poetry of Shelley and Yeats, who use imagery of landscape and nature as a metaphor for cultural identity and nationalism, she uses these themes in her work to create environments where an apparent beauty becomes interrupted by the harsh realities of war in an attempt to examine alternate perspectives of conflict.