From 18 June to 4 July, Sol Art will proudly present a joint exhibition of two of Ireland’s finest figurative painters, Francis O’Toole and Oisín Roche.

While both artists are academic in style and classically trained, they have each found a unique approach to the complex art of portraiture. Both artists deal closely with the psychology of their sitters, revealing the disposition of their characters through skillfully rendered poses and expressions. While Roche looks to using allegory, symbolism and references to the Old Masters to imbue meaning in his work, O’Toole creates fantastical narratives and imagined landscapes to add mystery and intrigue to his sitter’s characters and circumstances.

In 2014 Francis O’Toole was awarded the RHA ESB Sean Keating Award for Outstanding Painting. Also in 2014 Oisín Roche received the Ireland/US Council/Irish Arts Review Portraiture Award, and he has shown at the BP Portrait Awards in the National Portrait Gallery in London.

The exhibition will be launched in Sol Art on the evening of 18 June at 6pm.