Brushstrokes in the Hamptons: Gerard Byrne’s Live Art Performance Closes Out Fine Art Fair with Irish Flair

Under the high summer sun of Southampton, Irish painter Gerard Byrne closed out the 2025 Hamptons Fine Art Fair with a performance as captivating as it was painterly. On Sunday, July 13, visitors to Booth #418 didn’t just view Byrne’s canvases—they witnessed one unfold in real time. For three hours, the artist transformed a once-museum-displayed vintage car—already custom-painted in Jackson Pollock-inspired strokes by artist Mark Grimaldi—into a canvas of his own, layering new meaning atop old expression.

It was a rare moment where process, performance, and painting converged. And it worked. Collectors and curators gathered shoulder to shoulder, drawn in by the rhythm of his brush and the clarity of his vision.

Byrne’s participation in this year’s Hamptons Fine Art Fair marked his first major U.S. art fair appearance, and the response was more than enthusiastic. His solo booth featured over a dozen new oil paintings, many completed during his 2024 New York City residency. The works explored the geometry, atmosphere, and sheer emotional density of Manhattan—from moody rain-washed crosswalks to luminous skyline edges at dusk.

Described by fairgoers as “Monet with a metropolitan pulse” and “a Hopper for the post-digital age,” Byrne’s canvases offered a rare combination of immediacy and depth, with expressive brushwork and dramatic chiaroscuro defining his signature style. No image felt still. Each piece pulsed with moment and memory.

Byrne’s booth wasn’t just about the canvas. This year, his presence extended into fashion and design through notable collaborations. Menswear designer Todd Snyder appointed Byrne as their official brand ambassador for HFAF 2025, tying visual art and style into one cohesive narrative. Meanwhile, Irish design house Orior Furniture outfitted the space with hand-crafted furnishings that matched the gallery’s aesthetic and ethos—proof that the language of design is fluent across disciplines.

Together, these partnerships framed Byrne’s presence as more than a booth—it was a fully realized environment.

Back in Dublin, Gerard and Agata Byrne have cultivated a space as thoughtful and enduring as the artist’s paintings themselves. Founded in 2017, the Gerard Byrne Studio serves as a living and working gallery, located in the heart of Ranelagh village. It’s part exhibition space, part creative sanctuary—where curated shows draw global collectors and visitors step directly into the artist’s practice.

Byrne’s work is held in numerous public and private collections, including those of the Irish Government, Irish Embassies, and the Citadelle Art Museum in Texas—a testament to the global resonance of his distinctly Irish perspective.

Now in its 19th year, the Hamptons Fine Art Fair has become the definitive summer gathering for serious collectors and galleries alike. With over 150 exhibitors in 2025, the fair’s draw lies not only in its blue-chip curation but in its ability to balance global names with fresh, emerging perspectives.