Rob Hilken

Rob Hilken is a visual artist with disruptive tendencies. His work is routed in the familiar and the everyday: things that have become embedded and accepted in our lives so much that we barely register them. These things are his starting point: patterns, mass-produced objects, food, and popular culture.

Rob has become embedded in the local street art scene where, alongside many of his fellow Vaulters, he regularly contributes to the annual ‘Hit the North’ street art festival. He has produced murals across Ireland including large works in Banbridge, Coleraine and Killeshandra, where he has responded to the culture and heritage of the local area whilst keeping his own distinctive use of patterns and repetition at the fore.

His 2022 solo exhibition used painting, sculpture, video and photography to explore areas where gambling and religion intertwine. As with much of his work, he used humour as an entry point for audiences to engage with the potentially challenging subject matter.

Rob was a founding member of Vault Artist Studios and served as a trustee on the board for the first six years of the life of the collective. He studied fine art at Belfast Met (2012) and was previously a co-director of Catalyst Arts (2012-14).