Jeffrey Hirst has exhibited his work throughout the United States and Europe since 1987. He has his MFA from Louisiana State University and BFA from the University of Minnesota. His work has been showcased at national and international venues including the Minneapolis Institute of Art; Addington Gallery, Chicago, McKinney Contemporary, Dallas, and Bienal do Douro, Portugal.
Hirst is a recipient of the numerous grants and was awarded a fellowship at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation in Ireland where he has gone on four residencies. Hirst is represented by Addington Gallery in Chicago and Brandt-Roberts Galleries in Columbus, OH and his work is in numerous public and private collections in The U.S., Portugal, Italy, and Ireland. In 2021, Hirst co-founded Catalyst Art Lab, an artists community membership and art school. He teaches encaustic, drawing, and printmaking workshops across the U.S., Mexico and Ireland. He will return to Ireland in the fall of 2023 to teach two workshops and spend time on his fifth residency at Ballinglen Arts Foundation.
Artist Statement.
I am interested in manmade architectonic structure, its relationship to society and how architecture defines social space in an urban environment. My work combines architectural ideas with urban decay, fragments and repetitive pattern. Equally important, are my observations on how manmade structure and the natural world function together. How does the manmade world and the natural environment coexist? These are questions I use as a jumping off point while creating. The work is very process oriented mixing painting, printmaking, and sculpture. My paintings are built on irregular shaped panels that have a sculptural presence while juxtaposing a painting surface that is ethereal and atmospheric. While creating, I approach my work with a sense of play and construction and the work addresses ideas about decay, beauty, place, and renewal.