Meet the Irish artist set to display her work in the Louvre

Irish artist Clíodhna Doherty will take part in an upcoming showcase at the Louvre Museum during Art Basel Paris.

Following a succesful exhibition in the South of France, the body positivity artist will participate at Art Shopping - a prestigious art fair held at the Carrousel du Louvre from October 18-20.

Celebrating artists from across the globe, and presenting their work to thousands of visitors, the placement is a huge achievement for the Newry native, who will be one of a very small selection of Irish artists to show in the world-famous museum.

"I don't think I've full realised that this is happening," she admits, speaking over Zoom. "I probably won't until I'm standing in the Louvre in October. I still can't wrap my head around it. It's so surreal, I don't even have the words. When I got the e-mail, I thought it was a scam!"

The 29-year-old artist, who has made waves in the Irish art scene with her empowering depiction of the female form, aims to promote body positivity through her work.

Her interest in the subject matter, she says, came about during her first Life Drawing class where an older woman posed for her class:

"She walked in and just dropped the towel," she smiles, noting how confident she seemed in herself - especially compared to the room full of 18-year-old students.

Within a few minutes, when the initial shock died down, the then-teenager began to accept the model's body as a form to be captured and appreciated as opposed to something to be judged or sexualised.

"We all have nipples," she states plainly. "It shouldn't be something that is demonised in our society or in the art world."

These days, the Newry woman finds her models though Instagram, recruiting nudes for her appropriately named 'Intimacy Collection'. The results, she says, have been incredible.

"I've had 136 nudes sent in from women of all ages across the country," she says proudly.

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For the up-coming exhibition, Clíodhna will showcase 'Laura', a beautiful piece depicting the female form in a relaxed state.

Committed to creating a sustainable offering, the artist does not use black paint - which is sometimes made from animal bones - instead opting for vegan colours resulting in a beautiful mix of deeper hues of purple to bright pops of yellow, green and pink.

"It's an Aphrodite kind of pose with the book in front of her face," she explains. "I remember seeing the photo come through and I just thought 'this is just unbelievable'. The effort that this girl went to in taking a photo for me was exceptional."

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Although she was an art lover from an early age, O'Doherty says that pursuing a creative career was anything but easy.

"There's a myth that artists don't make money or they only make money when they're dead," she says.

That fear initially led her to move away from art to pursue a 'safer' career path. However, when her grandad passed away during the COVID pandemic, she realised she couldn't face a career outside of the arts.

"I realised that life is way too short to be stuck in a job that I hate or doesn't fill me with passion," she smiles. "That's when I decided to quit my job: halfway through a global pandemic!"

During the various lockdowns, Cliodhna says she had the time to work on her craft and began to build her business - something she didn't feel particularly prepared for despite her degree in Animation & Design.

"It's hard," she says of the adminastritive work. "It was definitely a massive learning curve, especially in the first year or two; I just didn't know how much I would have to put in to grow my social media, to grow an e-mail list, to get clients, to reach out to galleries, to have a body of work."

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Now, with her showcase at the International Fine Art Cannes Biennale behind her, and an exhibition at the Louvre in her sights, O'Doherty says she hopes to find a greater support system in Ireland to push her career forward.

"I do feel like there needs to be more funding," she says, "especially within women and art, and especially for artists not following the traditional landscapes or traditional concepts of art."

Althought nude art is a mainstay of the Europen art scene, Clíodhna believes that it is still "frowned upon" in Ireland. She also notes that more studio spaces for emerging artists are needed around the country.

"There's one place near me and it's full, constantly," she explains. "There's such high demand. There needs to be a hub in every city for artists to go."

Ideally, with financial and vocal support from the right bodies, O'Doherty hopes to bring her work to Art Basel Miami in the near future.

"I want to get my name out there and I want more internatinal clients. I want to be the next... I don't want to say I want to be the next Picasso," she laughs. "But I do want to be the next big artists."