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06 Sept 2025

Award-winning Tipperary artist's late mother featured in Italian exhibition

Exhibition at house of celebrated poet and writer in Florence

John Keating artist

Clonmel artist John Keating (centre) with art critics and curators Professor Giancarlo Bonomo (left) and Dott Raffaella Ferrari at the exhibition launch in Florence

The work of multi award-winning artist John Keating was recently on display at the House of Dante Alighieri museum in Florence.
The Clonmel man was one of six artists invited to exhibit at the house of the celebrated Italian poet and writer. 
“The venue is beautiful and the atmosphere at the opening of the exhibition earlier this month was great,” says John. 
The exhibition began on March 5 and continued until St Patrick’s Day, and one of the featured paintings was a head study of his late mother Nora.
John’s art has made a very favourable impression in Italy in recent years.  
In November 2020 he won the Trophy Cup when he was awarded first place in painting at the Premio Nazionale D’Arte Bologna Italy.
This exhibition was presented in collaboration with UNESCO Bologna and Udine and the theme was L’Idea della Belezza.
It was curated by Professor Giancarlo Bonomi and Dott Raffaella Ferrari. 
Elsewhere in Europe, he exhibited at the Symposium of European Confederation of Watercolour Societies in September 2021 in Ulm, Germany. This exhibition was hosted by the Deutsche Aquarell Gesellschaft. 
Closer to home, his work was on display from November until last month at the exhibition at the Laois Arthouse to celebrate its 10th anniversary year.
Originally from Upper Gladstone Street in Clonmel, and the son of the late Pierce and Nora Keating, John Keating lives in Dalkey in south Dublin. He studied at Crawford College of Art, Cork; Trinity College, Dublin and Loughborough University.
He attended the Arts Students League of New York as a Fulbright scholar and his work has received international acclaim.
He has exhibited with world-renowned artists including Lucien Freud, Giacomo Manzu, Rainer Fetting, Enzo Cucchi, KK Hodicke, Arnulf Rainer and Hermann Albert.
He has received more than 25 awards, including a Gold Medal of Honour at the Olympic Fine Art London in 2012. 

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