Paddy Campbell

Born in Dublin in 1942, Paddy Campbell loved to draw and paint from early childhood. His best and favourite subject at school was art, and he went on to study painting at the National College of Art in Dublin during the sixties and seventies, while he was establishing a successful catering business. This flourished into a successful enterprise, which took over Dublin's famous Bewleys Café and coffee business in 1986.

In 1996, at the age of 52, Campbell resolved to "let go" of his life as a businessman, and return to his first love as an Artist, spending more and more time in Florence where he had begun to study and practice Renaissance techniques.

By 2001 he had discovered that his true gift was three dimensional. He dedicated himself to learning the techniques of the Florentine masters, and in 2005 began making sculptures in his studio at via Luna in Florence. He subsequently took up residence in Italy, where he has continued to produce and exhibit most of his work.

Since his advent as a sculptor, Paddy Campbell's work has been shown in Ireland at the Royal Hibernian Academy, the Royal Ulster Academy, and at the numerous Gormley's Fine Art exhibitions throughout Ireland.

His commissions have included:

"The Spirit of Love" Memorial at Bantry Bay in Cork, "The Day That Changed Ireland" at Shannon Airport, President Mary McAleese (Official Portrait), Seán Donlon (Chancellor, Limerick University), "Life and Death" (Vicchio, Italy).

In Italy, he has held major exhibitions in Florence, Fiesole, Pietrasanta, Positano, Capri, Sardinia, and Sicily.

Today Campbell continues to work from his studio's in Italy and in Ireland.