12 by 10in. (30.5 by 25.4cm)

Title: LEMON QUEEN, 2013
Note: Lemon Queen was included in an exhibition entitled Fictitious Possibilities at the Talbot Gallery in Dublin in 2013. In the show Figgis presented 'portrait' paintings of religious and historical art icons as well as royalty, seen here. There are striking similarities between Lemon Queen and Sir William Dargie's portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, 1956 (Royal Trust Collection) and much of Figgis' work draws on the work of well-known paintings in history and the work of Master artists for inspiration. Her paintings often hold up a 'black mirror' to her subjects. She is interested in what lies beneath, the imperfections, the ugly and the macabre. She does just enough to give the viewer a reference point or a 'way into' the painting and then she presents her own reality to us which is often filled with dark humour. Dargie's work was commissioned to commemorate Queen Elizabeth's first Commonwealth tour in 1954. In the painting she is seen wearing a lemon-coloured chiffon evening gown and matching stole with a spray of artificial golden wattle flowers - the national flower of Australia - as well as a diamond necklace, and the 'Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara' among other jewels. This lemon Queen however has been dragged through a bush backwards and then tried to tidy herself up. She is insecure and distracted; her vacant blue eyes have drifted beyond the viewer. Her sloppy, lipsticked mouth is partially open giving her a gormless quality and the face recalls that of a ventriloquist's dummy. The delicate and symbolic gown is muddied and somewhere along the way she has lost most of her regal accessories. Much like the title of the exhibition, Figgis' journey to art world stardom reads like a fictitious possibility. In 2013 - a year after graduating from a masters in fine art from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin - the artist posted some of her work on the social media platform Twitter, where it attracted the attention of celebrated American painter and photographer Richard Prince (b.1949). He bought some of her work and subsequently introduced her to the New York art world. Up until that point she was creating work at her kitchen table, had no agent or gallery and was earning €10 an hour in a shop to get by. A decade later the artist's turnover on the secondary market alone stands at over €2.6m with her primary market place at auction in Hong Kong. She is now represented by the Helwaser Gallery in New York and has had numerous solo exhibitions. She has been the subject of countless articles, has been included in landmark exhibitions in the company of world renowned artists throughout the ages and has among other projects, been commissioned by Dior to be the first Irish artist to reinterpret their iconic Lady Dior handbag. The journey from her kitchen table to the top of the art world in 10 years may seem out of this world, but it is very much Figgis's own reality. Adelle Hughes,September 2023
Frame size: 18 by 16in. (45.7 by 40.6cm)

Excellent condition.

oil on panel

signed, titled and dated on reverse