​"The Enigma of Reality" oil on canvas 2018

This oil on canvas painting, first exhibited at the @ruabelfast annual exhibition 2018, is interested in the broader themes of the intangible nature of reality, explored within a familiar North Belfast landscape.  The artist uses the bell jar as a device to freeze-frame a moment in everyday life and present a skewed, dreamlike version of reality. The artist is well-known for his observations of the ordinary and every day, and in recent years, has taken the rapidly changing city of Belfast as his focus.

Dan Dowling is an established painter whose practice is recognised across Ireland and this year(2023) has received the Hanley Energy Sustainability Excellence Award at the RHA. 

artscouncilni_collection  ​Daniel Dowling