A painting of a young woman wearing a grey jumper, leaning her head on her arm
© Daniel Nelis. Photo, National Gallery of Ireland.

Daniel Nelis

Late Spring, 2025

Oil on panel | Unframed: 17 x 21 x 3cm

‘This work is of my wife, Andrea, painted in the months before our marriage. Andrea has been a recurring presence in my work. The painting does not seek to sentimentalise our relationship, but to bear witness through an intimate and intrusive lens, with elements such as the fabrics and heather rendered with the same scrutiny as the figure. Such moments of quiet reflection, experienced in the vivid reality of the present, are of greatest interest in my work.’ - Daniel Nelis.

Daniel Nelis is a visual artist, curator and art educator from County Donegal. Rooted in the desolate boglands of his home, his paintings capture moments of stillness and contemplation, and through the intimacy of the mark-making, register Nelis’s heightened awareness of the incursions of time. Nelis studied Fine Art Painting at Ulster University, later completing an MA in Art History, Collections and Curating at University College Dublin. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, at the National Portrait Gallery, London, the Royal Ulster Academy of Arts, the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts.

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