Graham Knuttel (b.1954)

The Irish figurative painter and artist Graham Knuttel was born in Dublin and attended the Dun Laoghaire School of Art and Design, where he gained a Diploma in fine art painting and sculpture. His involvement with sculpture brought him into contact with the techniques of the older painters like Goya and Rembrandt. In 1976, he won the Royal Canada Trust Award For Young Sculptors.

Graham Knuttel grew up with both a talent and interest in art, and was familiar with the work of Van Gogh, Cezanne and Picasso. Above all, he was an intuitive artist, interested in figure drawing and figure painting, and more concerned with expressing his feelings and painting from his heart than in the conceptual rationality of modern abstract art.

Typically he paints human figures in the urban landscape, using oils and acrylics in his own vibrantly coloured style.

During his career, he has received a number of important commissions. These commissions include; a bronze portrait of historian Maurice Craig (1990), a bronze portrait of painter Patrick Collins HRHA (1990), a portrait of actor Sylvester Stallone (1993), a portrait of singer Christy Moore (1993), and a bronze portrait of John B. Keane (1996), a portrait of Boxing Promotor Don King (1997) and a portrait of the actor Robert De Niro (1999). In 1981, he co-founded the Wicklow Fine Art Press.

Knuttel's artworks have been widely exhibited in a number of shows. Solo exhibitions include: Project Arts Centre, Dublin (1978); Droichead Arts Centre, Drogheda, Co. Louth (1991); Apollo Gallery, Dublin (1997); Stock Exchange Hong Kong (1997); Harvey Nichols Knightsbridge London (1997,8,9); Art International New York, Jacob K. Javits Convention Centre, New York (1998); Dalriada Gallery Ballymena N Ireland (1998); Coole Castle Fermanagh N Ireland (1998); Marbella Club Marbella Spain (1998); Casino De Marbella Marbella Spain (1999); European Parliament Brussels Belgium (1999); Cork Street Gallery London (2000); The Phoenix Gallery, Donegal Pass (2001); K Club Kildare (2001); Gallerie Pinton Paris France (2001); The Bold Gallery, Galway (2004). Knuttel's group exhibitions include: Irish Exhibition of Living Art (1978); Claremorris Open Exhibition; Royal Hibernian Academy Banquet Show (1991); New York Contemporary Art Fair (1998).

Graham Knuttel's pictures are represented in a number of collections in Europe and America as well as many public collections in Ireland, including: Arts Council of Ireland; Bank of Ireland; University College Dublin; AIB (Allied Irish Banks); Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin.

Source
Online Encyclopedia of Irish and World Artists
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/irish-artists/graham-knuttel.htm

Graham Knuttel is a highly collectible and internationally acclaimed sculptor turned painter. He was born in Dublin in 1954 and attended the Dun Laoghaire School of Art where he discovered his love for figurative, representational painting. He also became involved in sculpting, which he did out of necessity in order to pass his final year of art school. Knuttel's style has become instantly recognizable and sought after, with his works being collected by celebrities such as Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro. Knuttel has won the Royal Canada Trust Award for young Sculptors (1976), he co-founded Wicklow Fine Art Press (1981) and in 2008 An Post released two Knuttel-designed stamps in commemoration of the Summer Olympics that took place that year. Knuttel's paintings are influenced by his early studies of Cezanne and Picasso and he aims to portray his fears, doubts and hopes on to the faces of his subjects. The artist’s work can be found in public and private collections worldwide including the Swiss Bank Corporation, Allied Irish Banks, Goldman Sachs International and Saatchi & Saatchi London.