John Rainey works primarily in sculpture, combining traditional casting processes in materials like porcelain with digital fabrication technologies such as 3D printing.
ARTIST BIO
John Rainey is a sculptor based in Belfast. He completed an MA in Ceramics and Glass at the Royal College of Art (London, 2012) and has been awarded residencies at Konstfack University for Arts, Crafts and Design, Stockholm (Anglo-Swedish Society Scholorship 2013) and the British School at Rome (Arts Council of Northern Ireland Fellowship 2018). Recent solo exhibitions include STATE SHIFT, BERG Gallery, Stockholm (2022) and SLIP TANK, Naughton Gallery, Belfast (2021).
Discobolus with Disobedient Tiling (SLIP TANK), 2022. John Rainey, 29.7 x 42 cm, Archival print on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag
Above left: The Deflatables (Black:Yellow), 2019, John Rainey, Parian porcelain, UK Government Art Collection.
Installation Image of the work 'Copia Romana', 2019, John Rainey, British Ceramics Biennial, England.
His recent work focuses on sculptural copies, glitches and alternatives, using re-imaginings of sculptural histories to consider current ideas and ideals.
Installation image of SLIP TANK, 2021, John Rainey, solo exhibition at the Naughton Gallery, Queens University Belfast
Installation image of SLIP TANK, 2021, John Rainey, solo exhibition at the Naughton Gallery, Queens University Belfast
His sculptures emerge from periods working back and forth between these digital and physical worlds, often featuring material illusions and disprution of familiar forms.
Erroneous Restoration Study #1, 2022. John Rainey, 24 x 9.5 x 6.8 cm, Jesmonite and 3D Print
Joh Rainey Studio Visit, 2017 (Image: Jane Morrow)
