Brian Maguire: Portraits—The Failure of the State

Portraits—The Failure of the State presents painter Brian Maguire’s portraits from three bodies of work that investigate the catastrophic impact of systemic violence without justice in Missoula, Montana; Bentiu, South Sudan; and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Maguire is an artist who looks outward, beyond the studio, engaging with the world and working in close dialogue with the families and communities of those erased, displaced, and forgotten by the failure of state institutions to serve and protect. Portraiture is at the heart of his practice: each work is an act of turning towards a person, their family, and community, spending time and bearing witness where justice is absent.

This exhibition is made possible with the generous support of Missoula Art Museum, the collection of Christian and Gulia Groenke, Fergus McCaffrey Gallery, New York, Galerie Christophe Gaillard, Paris, and Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago. Missoula Art Museum commissioned the Missoula portraits and supported the project over five years.

OPENING AND ARTIST TALK

Tuesday, February 10 // 6pm

Join us to celebrate Brian Maguire's work with an artist talk, followed by a reception in the Devlin Café.

Free admission. 

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GALLERY HOURS

Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays // 2pm to 8pm
February 10–March 18
April 13–June 3

Saturdays* // 1pm to 5pm
February 14–June 20

The exhibition will be closed on Saturday, May 23.

If you would like to view the works outside of these hours, please email rachael@irishartscenter.org.

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Featured images: Barbara; Browning; Veronica Nyadeni Hoth; Miranda Rose Kenmille (Rosie).

Alongside his exhibition at IAC, Brian Maguire will present a new body of work at Rua Red, South Dublin Arts Centre (www.ruared.ie). Developed during a residency at Rua Red, this commissioned project focuses on his engagement with international protection applicants living at the nearby International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) center. The exhibition features portraits of the men, created as Maguire listened to their stories of leaving home and their hopes for the future. It opens on 6 March 2026.

Presented with generous support from Culture Ireland.