Celebrate the beauty of international and local artists at iBAM! as they display their work throughout the building and discuss how they hone their craft.

Róisín O’Farrell is the featured iBAM! artist, whose art will be on display the whole weekend. In addition to O’Farrell’s art, there will be an IAHC members art show and work on display by Irish born, Chicago artist, Philip Dever Groark.

Philip Groark is a self taught artist who creates images in the traditional and modern style using oil paint on canvas and pen and ink on paper. His collection includes beautiful landscapes of Ireland and America as well as abstracts which he refers to as his dimensional art. 

You may have seen some of his work at Chief O'Neill's Pub/Restaurant in Chicago.

Philip was born in Tourmakeady, Co. Mayo where Gaelic was spoken frequently.

When he was five years of age his family moved to Dublin where he was raised in a place called Fatima Mansions with his eight sisters and four brothers.

Fatima Mansions was no walk in the park it was commonly referred to as the "flats" or what Americans call "projects." Philip and his brothers and sisters were fortunate enough to have stoic hard-working parents. His father was a farmer, coal miner and laborer until he made his career in bricklaying to support his family.

It was shortly after moving to Dublin that Philip began drawing and painting. At the age of thirteen he left primary school to work as a bicycle courier for grocery and clothing stores delivering goods throughout Dublin. Two years later he joined his father and brothers in the bricklaying trade where he learned to become a master bricklayer.

A tribute to Camille Pissarro: The Stream at Osny, 1883
In 1979 he immigrated to Chicago where he became a proud American citizen and union member of Local 21.  His entire life he always kept up with his artwork even after working long tough days he managed to find the time to create beautiful displays of art. A popular phrase of Philip is, "I'm inspired by all art, but if you wait for inspiration to do your art you'll spend more time waiting than doing art."

Throughout the years he joined other artists to paint and sketch, but he wanted more out of his art so he began to search in his artwork for a better means of his own personal expression. It was after his search where he delved into the realms of dimensional art.

The Battle of Clontarf, 23 April 1014

He does not attempt to create an abstract representation of something else, but instead strives to capture the way things are in the dimensions that lie beyond those we are able to sense.