Clíodhna Doherty: Newry Artist's work to hang in the Louvre

'Hang it in the Louvre' - the artist living her dream "Hang it in the Louvre" is a well-known turn of phrase, but for one Newry woman it is about to become a reality.

Clíodhna Doherty, an abstract figurative artist, will showcase her art piece Laura in the world-famous Louvre Museum in Paris.

The piece will be displayed during Art Basel Paris when the international art scene comes together to celebrate their talents.

The Art Shopping event runs from 18-20 October.

"It's going to be a surreal moment. I think it'll not really hit me until Friday evening when everybody's going home, that my piece is in the Louvre," she said.

Having quit her job and embraced a career as a full-time artist just four years ago, the 29-year-old said the experience would top off a whirlwind year which has included showcases in Venice and Cannes.

"It's a bit bonkers" the artist said, but when PAX Gallery in Austria reached out "it was an opportunity I couldn't turn down".

"I thought it was a scam first, I thought it was a wee bit too good to be true, but it turned out to be legit and here we are," she said.

Breaking into the European art world has been a dream come true for the artist, who wants to carve out her own unique path in the industry.

The Louvre has added significance for her as it houses arguably the world's most famous painting, the Mona Lisa.

"[Leonardo] Da Vinci is a huge inspiration for me," she said.

"The Mona Lisa captures a woman both how she wanted to be perceived and how he perceived her and that's kind of a thing I try to do in my own work as well but more abstract."

The south Armagh woman painted Laura in 2022 as part of her Intimacy collection - when over 136 females from across Ireland sent her nude photos of themselves.

The story behind each woman was very important, Ms Doherty said.

She described Laura, as a confident young woman, portraying the comfort experienced when a woman is alone for five or 10 minutes before bed or when they get out of the shower.

She said she wanted to encourage women to see themselves in her intimate paintings and be proud of their bodies in a non-sexualised way.

The artist said that in a world where STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects were often focused on, there was a "stigma that artists don't make money... there is that mental block".

But she added that social media had played a key role in allowing her to live her artistic dream.

"It's definitely changed for the better, especially for emerging women artists who only represent 2% within the art world," she said.

"There is more exposure for women because of social media."

Having initially completed a degree in animation and design with a dream of working for Disney, Ms Doherty originally started working in graphic design.

But the Covid-19 pandemic proved a spur to pursue a career in art.

"My grandad died during Covid-19 and he had been really pushing me to pursue fine art," she said.

"I realised life is way too short, and I just said 'sod it' and quit my job and never looked back."