Sonia Shiel’s far-fetched works are vested in make-believe and indiscretion. They are composed of paintings and sculptures, videos and animated sculptures that share overarching narratives and the central materiality of paint. Set in ungoverned, lawless and fictional environments, her protagonists in their various pursuits, are confronted by nature, worry, wonder and mortality, mocked by chance and other systemic obstacles of their own creation.
She has had solo exhibitions at The Oonagh Young Gallery, Dublin; The Model, Sligo; Temple Bar Gallery and Studios; Kulturbunker, Frankfurt; The Galway Arts Centre; Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris; The Butler Gallery, Kilkenny among others. Recipient of the Arts Council’s Project Award, she has recently completed the 2014 Art & Law Program at Fordham Law School while participating on the International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), in New York. Shiel’s practice is represented by the Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, Dublin.