PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021-2022

Critical Selection 2021–2022

ceramics / ceirmeacht

glass / gloine

furniture / troscán

jewellery / seodra

leatherwork / saothar leathair

textiles / teicstílí

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

mixed media / meáin mheasctha

wood / adhmad

metals / miotail

paper / páipéar

basketry / caoladóireacht

PORTFOLIO

critical selection 2021–2022

CONTENTS Message President Michael D. Higgins Preface Andrew Bradley Introduction Ciara Garvey Conjuring Form Alice Stori Liechtenstein PORTFOLIO Wider Programme

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PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022 Maker Profiles

17 97

Acknowledgements

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Mary Nagle Tenacious Flame III Paper, steel wire, gouache paint, glue, 53 × 33 × 30cm Photographer Roland Paschhoff

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

MESSAGE

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

president michael d. higgins

We, in Ireland, owe an enormous debt of gratitude to our designers and crafters, who do so much to prepare our rich culture and heritage, while also enabling us to view our world in ways that are new and emancipatory.

The innovation and imagination of our craftspeople extends beyond Irish shores, receiving wide acclaim on the international stage.

That is such wonderful cause for celebration, reminding us that beautiful design and craft are not only admirable in themselves, but also create rich and strong connections between countries and peoples.

May I take this opportunity to thank all the talented designers and craftspeople whose work is represented in this important portfolio.

Your imagination, talent and generous work not only contribute profoundly to Ireland’s reputation as a place of creativity and imagination, but also greatly enrich the cultural space and life of our nation.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir.

Michael D. Higgins Uachtarán na hÉireann President of Ireland

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Zelouf & Bell Ginkgo Cabinet Pressure dyed ripple sycamore, mother-of-pearl, cobalt blue figured eucalyptus, brass, white quartz, bronze lamb nappa, antiqued mirror, 190 × 10 × 45cm Photographer Roland Paschhoff

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

PREFACE

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

andrew bradley / chair, dcci

As Chair of Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI) I am privileged to observe first-hand the extraordinary levels of passion, creativity and commitment, that makers need to achieve mastery and recognition in their craft. A key mark of achievement for any maker in Ireland is inclusion in PORTFOLIO, Critical Selection.

DCCI established the PORTFOLIO programme in 2005 as a targeted, strategic development initiative to, over time, improve the standards, build reputations, and open international commercial opportunities for Ireland’s makers of contemporary high-end craft.

Since its foundation I am pleased to share that to a greater extent our objectives have been realised as there has been a significant improvement in the range and quality of craft being made in Ireland, as well as marked improvements in domestic and overseas awareness of Irish makers.

For example, in 2018, eight makers were selected for the ‘Best of Europe’ pavilion at the prestigious Homo Faber biennale.

Many makers who have been part of our PORTFOLIO programme have gone on to have distinguished careers and have achieved well-deserved international recognition and success, including Joseph Walsh, Sara Flynn, Joe Hogan and Sasha Sykes. These makers continue to retain their ties with the Irish design and craft community, generously contributing their experiences and enriching our collective knowledge and understanding of contemporary craft and providing a clear pathway for up-and-coming makers. We are eternally grateful to them.

For this year’s edition of PORTFOLIO, an esteemed international panel was tasked by DCCI with reviewing and assessing over 160 applications from around the world. This has been the largest number of applications ever received and it clearly reflects the passion and vibrancy in our sector. As ever, the jury was looking for work that demonstrated excellence in design, craftsmanship, innovation, and technical skill to world-class standards. In total, 93 makers were selected for membership of the overall programme and 39 of these were then chosen to feature in PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022, almost double that of the previous edition. Progress indeed.

The PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022 book and exhibition presents a diverse collection of exceptional objects from these 39 makers, demonstrating the value and importance of craft in the modern world. As you explore the work you may be able to detect several overlapping fundamental themes coming through: respect for materials, storytelling, sustainability, collaboration and the concept of time. I know that through this PORTFOLIO edition you will enjoy learning more about these important makers and their work.

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Scott Benefield Scribble Encalmo Glass, stainless steel, 68 × 51 × 20cm Photographer Scott Benefield

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

ciara garvey / development manager, collector & tourism programmes

INTRODUCTION

PORTFOLIO celebrates contemporary and design-led craft of the highest quality. Makers selected for the programme are those creating work which appeals to the high-end gallery market. For the selection process, we invited an esteemed judging panel: Jean Blanchaert, curator and gallerist from Milan who curated ‘Best in Europe’ at Homo Faber, Venice; Juliana Cavaliero and Debra Finn, owners of Cavaliero Finn, a much-admired gallery in London, and Alice Stori Liechtenstein, independent curator and Founder of Schloss Hollenegg for Design in Austria. The panel were joined

by Dr Audrey Whitty, National Museum of Ireland, for judging of the RDS Irish Craft Bursary.

The challenges of 2020–2021 meant we had to change how the application and judging process worked. In previous years, judges convened in one physical place, looking at actual work submitted by makers. This time round, it all had to be done virtually. We received far more applications than anticipated, a positive consequence of the virtual realm, as it appeared to encourage more people to apply – particularly those who may not have been able to before for logistical reasons. Out of 160 applications, 93 were selected for the overall programme and within that, 39 were selected for this edition of the Critical Selection. This cohort were judged to have presented exceptional work comparable to world-class standards. *——*——* A key aspect of the PORTFOLIO programme is building relationships – with makers, galleries, collectors, museums and a wide range of relevant bodies. This is important for us in order to be able to create meaningful opportunities for members. We have worked with the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade since 2005, running a joint collection whereby high-end craft is purchased for the embassy network. In 2020, notable acquisitions included: wood-turned vessels by Alan Meredith for the Embassy of Ireland in Helsinki and a series of sciobs by Joe Hogan commissioned for the Permanent Mission of Ireland to the United Nations, New York.

Since 2004, we have worked with the National Museum of Ireland, building and developing another joint collection, the Contemporary Collection of Design and Craft. Here, the ambition is to collect contemporary high-quality works from Ireland’s leading designer-makers which are, without doubt, the antiques of the future. In 2020, instead of purchasing work, the funds were put towards an open call commission. This was an invitation

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to all DCCI members to propose a work which would be a personal response to the Covid pandemic. Fifty-one applications were received and judged by a panel consisting of Dr Audrey Whitty, Alex Ward from the National Museum of Ireland and Jean Blanchaert.

Silversmith Annemarie Reinhold was selected as the winner.

Her vision was a sculptural ‘Spoon Garden’ with a group of silver spoons, crafted in various vegetable forms, displayed on wooden blocks with cutout centres. Explaining the inspiration for the piece she said: ‘Like lots of people, I was living in a small space in a city during the lockdown and it got me thinking a lot about nature and the privilege it is, especially at a time like this, to have your own outdoor space and to be able to enjoy the outdoors. Amidst all the change, nature and the seasons have also been a really important constant for us all, and planting and gardening have given a lot of people great comfort during difficult days. This is what I hope to capture in the Spoon Garden.’ The finished work became part of the National Museum of Ireland’s permanent collection in July 2021.

Our relationship with the Michelangelo Foundation has deepened and become more productive in recent years. From initial meetings in 2018 which resulted in eight makers being selected for Homo Faber, we have continued working closely with the team managing the superb Homo Faber Guide ensuring that Irish craft has a strong presence. Another exciting development is that we have been invited to bring this Critical Selection exhibition to their new gallery, Arcades des Arts, in Geneva in 2022, which we are very much looking forward to. *——*——* One of the most fantastic opportunities open to members in the PORTFOLIO programme is eligibility to apply for the RDS Irish Craft Bursary.

Worth €10,000, the bursary may be used for a wide range of career and professional development activities. The first winner, in 2019 was glass artist Edmond Byrne, who used his bursary to join forces with metal artist Adi Toch. Their aim was to establish an interdisciplinary practice exploring the synergies between glass and metals. For Edmond, the bursary provided him with the opportunity to collaborate with Adi, and for them to experiment and take creative risks. The finished work was shown at Collect Open in London in February 2020 with acquisitions subsequently made by the V&A and Ulster Museum for their permanent collections.

Last year’s winner was jewellery designer Seliena Coyle who used her bursary to create a series of contemporary icons inspired by and dedicated to women. Created using jewellery, printing and mixed-media techniques, this powerful, continually evolving body of work, aims to highlight and celebrate women’s stories – particularly those whose contributions may have been overlooked.

This year’s winner is Cara Murphy. Her ambition to challenge her own skills and create new ways of shaping forms made a huge impression on the judges. In her proposal she stated: ‘As a silversmith, I predominantly

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hammer over steel forms to create my work. As my work is influenced by the Irish environment, I sometimes bring stone into the workshop and hammer into the hollows or round the stone. With this bursary, I want to take my hammers outside and explore working directly in the natural rugged landscape. Specifically, I want to challenge my making and see what happens when I hammer fine silver sheet into rocks at the beach.

I want to explore potential forms created at the intersection of where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Irish coastline.’ Cara will document this project online, giving audiences the chance to find out about the process and see the work evolve.

Bringing craft and audiences together in this digital way, is another step forward for us with PORTFOLIO. The year 2020 showed us how this space has the potential to encourage wider connection and appreciation in ways we hadn’t considered previously. While nothing can ever replace the joy of seeing and experiencing craft in the flesh, we look forward to this hybrid space, with physical exhibitions and a revitalised digital presence working side by side. See more on dcci.ie

Notes and References

Michelangelo Foundation

Sciobs – A sciob is an Irish word for a particular type of traditional

www.michelangelofoundation.org/

basket which was used for straining cooked potatoes. The sciob could be used as a platter for serving potatoes at the table.

Afterwards, it could be hung up on a wall. Sciobs are still made by basketmakers today as both useful and decorative objects.

Homo Faber www.homofaberevent.com/en Homo Faber Guide www.homofaberguide.com/ RDS Irish Craft Bursary www.rds.ie/rds-foundation/arts/craft-awards/ rds-irish-craft-bursary

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Peter Sheehan & Cathal Loughnane Studio/workshop image, Newcastle, Co. Wicklow Photographer James Lynch

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

CONJURING FORM

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

alice stori liechtenstein

In the last fifteen months we have become so accustomed to working remotely, that when the Design & Crafts Council Ireland proposed that judging for PORTFOLIO should take place virtually, we, the panel, all agreed as a matter of course. We were aware of the challenges, but with sufficient information and the right set of parameters, the task was feasible.

It may seem counter-intuitive to assess craft from looking at a photograph. After all, aren’t attributes such as texture, size and weight intrinsic to every object and work of art? In The Surface Matters, Liz Cooper captures with precision the thrilling pleasure of coming in contact with precious and unique objects. By touching the surface we understand whether an object is soft, rough or hollow. But touching is a privilege not bestowed on everyone; encountering objects in an exhibition or gallery context, for example, is generally by looking only. These days, even just being in the same room with artefacts and sensing them through proximity, is something which we can no longer take for granted. I am always nervous and vigilant when handling a unique object – what if I drop it? – so I am happy to capture as much information as possible simply by looking.

Recently I posed myself the following question: how much of the value and real beauty of a work can we perceive through a photograph? The answer, surprisingly, is a great deal! Weight can be hit or miss, and scale is hard to judge: a small object is not necessarily lighter than a large one and a bowl that fits in the hand could be mistaken to be as large as a basin.

However, from just looking at a well-taken, high-quality photo we can tell with a certain accuracy what the object in question is made of and, depending on how it reflects the light, we can infer many features about its surface.

It is an incredible feat of the eye to be able to interpret and decode so much of an object through an image. Interestingly, the eye’s retina is an outgrowth of the brain. As an image hits our retina, the brain works at speed to find a similar image in our memory archive to perform a decoding comparison. Probably in no epoch before ours have humans become so adept at understanding an image and filling in the gaps. It is a type of literacy we have perfected over almost two centuries since the invention of photography.

One can study an object and note its features, but that touches only the surface. This is why we must also take form into consideration.

Form is one of the seven elements of art which are the visual tools used to compose a work of art or craft (together with line, shape, value, colour, texture, and space). Form indicates something that is three dimensional and encloses volume – it can be geometric or organic. That is the technical

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way of explaining it and conveys very little of what a good form can inspire.

A form that is good catches the eye and the heart, even when it is hard to pinpoint what exactly makes it such. We are bound to constantly ask ourselves why one object is better than another. Colour and texture might contribute, but when the proportions are wrong, no surface treatment will help. Instead, when the proportions are so right that nothing more needs to be added or taken away, the shape is going to be perceived as beautiful.

When the potter throws a lump of clay, when the silversmith hammers a sheet of silver, when the basketmaker and the weaver prepare the reeds and the threads, they are conjuring forms from their mind and slowly allowing them to grow in their hands until the moment they come into being. The ultimate skill of the craftsperson is knowing when the form has been reached; knowing when to stop, knowing when the work is done.

Soetsu Yangagi taught us in The Beauty of Everyday Things that the knowledge of an object’s properties does not necessarily lead to an understanding of its essence; intuition is far more important than intellect, far closer to the essence of beauty. An intuitive and creative mind can imagine a fantastic and original form but it needs a trained and skilled hand to be able to execute it. Conversely, a skilled hand alone will never be able to give life to something original if the mind cannot conjure it first. The challenge for the maker is this marriage of mind and hand. Both the skill of the hand and the imagination of the mind need to be trained, exercised and perfected. It is only through repetition that the craftsperson hones his or her skill, and it is through the mastering of that skill that she or he can bend and ply the material to match the vision in his or her mind. The craftsperson is someone who can imagine something better, more beautiful. She or he does not know how she or he will get there so puts his or her skills to work to shape an intuitive idea. It is not a linear path, more a stop and start process.

Mastering a craft means learning the steps, developing and refining the technique and then subverting it to create something unique; knowing the rules in order to break them.

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PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

PORTFOLIO

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

wider programme / current membership

PORTFOLIO actively works to grow the reputation and potential of makers across all major disciplines of contemporary design and craft. Selected by an international expert panel, the 2020–2021 membership features 93 of Ireland’s most renowned designers and craft makers.

For further information on the PORTFOLIO wider programme, please visit www.dcci.ie

Muriel Beckett textiles Alison Brent ceramics Fiona Byrne glass Kevin Callaghan ceramics Julie Connellan jewellery Seliena Coyle jewellery Fiona Daly textiles Chloë Dowds ceramics Fiadh Durham textiles Isobel Egan ceramics Seamus Gill metals Camilla Hanney ceramics Nicola Henley textiles Elaine Harrington ceramics Tricia Harris furniture Stevan Hartung furniture Genevieve Howard jewellery Orla Kaminska ceramics Emmet Kane wood Shane Keeling ceramics Colm Kenny textiles Michael Kobuladze ceramics Peadar Lamb glass Chloe Lennon ceramics Sophie Longwill glass Caroline Madden glass Ciaran McGill furniture 15

Stuart McGrath jewellery Eileen McNulty textiles Claire Molloy ceramics Michael Moore ceramics Jane Murtagh metals Mark Newman jewellery Stephen O’Briain furniture Paul O’Brien furniture Kate O’Kelly ceramics Angela O’Kelly jewellery Mandy Parslow ceramics Eric Phillips furniture Nicole Portlock ceramics Laura Quinn glass Jennifer Rothwell fashion Enda Scott furniture Jane Seymour ceramics Keith Sheppard glass Alla Sinkevich fashion Anna Smyth ceramics Andrea Spencer glass Katie Spiers glass Paula Stokes glass Jim Turner ceramics Leiko Uchiyama textiles Richard West wood Peter Young glass

Jack Doherty Tall Folded Rim Vessel Porcelain, copper carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, 20 × 33cm Photographer Steve Tanner

PORTFOLIO

critical selection 2021–2022

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Scott Benefield glass / gloine Antrim Fields – two blown glass vessels, 40 × 35 × 20cm Photographer Scott Benefield

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Roger Bennett wood / adhmad Inlaid cherry bowl – cherry wood, argentium silver, water-based dyes, 13 × 6cm Photographer Trevor Hart

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Paul Bokslag paper / páipéar Shinrin-Yoku – papercut installation, variable dimensions Photographer Brian Cregan

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Emma Bourke glass / gloine This page: Biophilia – borosilicate glass, 17 × 15cm Photographer Michael McLaughlin

Opposite page: Symbiotic Trophy – borosilicate glass and engraved wood, 45 × 14cm Photographer Conor McCabe

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Max Brosi wood / adhmad This page: EDGE Vessel – sycamore, wood bleach, liming wax, 30 × 30cm Opposite page: Wave EDGE Vessel – sycamore, dye, wax, 36 × 26cm Photographer Steve Rogers

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Cathy Burke ceramics / ceirmeacht Xanthoria Form IV – stoneware ceramics, various dry textured glazes, 37 × 20 × 19cm Photographer Roland Paschhoff

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Úna Burke leatherwork / saothar leathair Overlap Jacket – full grain vegetable tanned cowhide, solid brass coated with gold, 38 × 24 × 5cm Photographer Roland Paschhoff

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Anne Butler ceramics / ceirmeacht Inflect – Parian porcelain, 29 × 29 × 17cm Photographer Bob Given

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Edmond Byrne glass / gloine Ensemble Collection – glass kaolin, mould-blown glass Photograph courtesy of The New Craftsmen

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Hugo Byrne metals / miotail Damascus clad Nakiri – Damascus clad carbon steel, ancient bog oak, poplar, Atlantic drift plastic, sterling silver, brass, 2.5 × 5 × 28cm Photographer Hugo Byrne

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Mike Byrne ceramics / ceirmeacht This page: Pause to wonder – fired clay, engobes and glazes, 48 × 13 × 20cm Opposite page: A clear signal – fired clay, engobes and glazes, 52 × 13 × 20cm Photographer Roland Paschhoff

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Stuart Cairns mixed media / meáin mheasctha Blackthorn Pouring Vessel – fine silver, sterling silver, blackthorn, vintage linen thread, 20 × 8cm Photographer Stuart Cairns

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Mary Conroy ceramics / ceirmeacht The Sum of its Parts – ceramic, 23 × 23 × 23cm Photographer Mary Conroy

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Jack Doherty ceramics / ceirmeacht Guardian Vessel – porcelain, copper carbonate, sodium bicarbonate, 25 × 26cm Photographer Steve Tanner

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Sara Flynn ceramics / ceirmeacht Vessel Installation – porcelain and high-fire glaze, 23 × 115cm Photographer Stuart Burford / Copyright Erskine, Hall & Coe

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Jennifer Hickey ceramics / ceirmeacht The heart compared to a seed – porcelain, tulle, translucent thread, 17 × 15cm and 6.5 × 6cm Photographer Aileen Dillon

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Joe Hogan basketry / caoladóireacht Boat-shaped pouch on driftwood – driftwood and willow rods, 121 × 62 × 57cm Photographer Sylvain Deleu / Courtesy of Sarah Myerscough Gallery

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Alison Kay ceramics / ceirmeacht Pink horizontal vessel with side opening – white raku clay, 14 × 24 × 14cm Photographer Roland Paschhoff

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

John Lee furniture / troscán Sliabh NY – walnut, 216 × 76 × 54cm Photographer Roland Paschhoff

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Antonio Julio Lopez Castro ceramics / ceirmeacht Water droppers – stoneware clay, glaze; 8 × 5cm, 6 × 6cm, 9 × 4cm Photographer Roland Paschhoff

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Alan Meredith wood / adhmad Burl Dearcán – burl oak, white oil, 31 × 23cm and 36 × 21cm Photographer Alan Meredith

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Cecilia Moore metals / miotail This page: Balancing Act III – copper, brass, bronze, 26 × 11cm Opposite page: Balance in Blue – sheet copper, 30 × 20 × 20cm Photographer Roland Paschhoff

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Sadhbh Mowlds mixed media / meáin mheasctha The Suffering – silicone, fibreglass, resin, human and yak hair, hot-sculpted glass, steel, cast bronze, 134 × 62 × 60cm Photographer Sadhbh Mowlds

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Cara Murphy metals / miotail Scattered Seeds I – fine silver and vitreous enamel, 14 × 15 × 4cm Scattered Seeds II – fine silver and vitreous enamel, 14 × 12 × 5cm Photographer David Pauley

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Mary Nagle mixed media / meáin mheasctha This page: Tenacious Flame I – paper, steel wire, gouache paint, glue, 52 × 30 × 30cm Opposite page: Tenacious Flame II – copper, steel wire, gouache paint, glue, 56 × 28 × 12cm Photographer Roland Paschhoff

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Nuala O’Donovan ceramics / ceirmeacht Coral Phoenix – porcelain, 42 × 30 × 38cm Photographer Janice O’Connell F22 Photography

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Nigel O’Reilly jewellery / seodra Orb 2020 – 18 carat rose gold, 14mm golden South Sea pearl, 380 pink and orange sapphires with pink and green diamonds Photographer Richard Foster

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Helen O’Shea textiles / teicstílí This page: Bi-Valve – re-used HDPE, cotton hand-dyed threads and pins, 47 × 33 × 14cm Opposite page: Twin – re-used HDPE, cotton hand-dyed threads and pins, 24 × 33 × 10cm Photographer Roland Paschhoff

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Annemarie O’Sullivan basketry / caoladóireacht Breck Lampshade – heather and metal, 40 × 120cm Photographer Jonathan Bassett

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Annemarie Reinhold metals / miotail Pear Bowls – sterling silver, Britannia silver, 12.5 × 7 × 4.5cm Photographer Roland Paschhoff

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Michael Rice ceramics / ceirmeacht Extrusion 2 – black porcelain, crawl glaze, wooden frame, 1.2m × 1.1m × 25cm Photographer Michael Rice

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Emer Roberts jewellery / seodra This page: Jaw Nouveau Necklace – sterling silver, 9 carat yellow gold Opposite page: Architectural Neckpiece – sterling silver, black ribbon Photographer Doreen Kilfeather

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Peter Sheehan & Cathal Loughnane furniture / troscán History Desk & Chair – French walnut and calf leather Desk, 214 × 90 × 77cm / Chair, 67 × 58 × 82cm Image Andrew Jackson

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Matt Smith ceramics / ceirmeacht Leaning Cupid – black Parian, 25 × 13 × 11cm Photographer Matt Smith

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Matt Smith textiles / teicstílí Study in Pink and Grey – found textile, wool, 65 × 79cm Photographer Matt Smith

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Sasha Sykes furniture / troscán Kingdom – flora collected from Killarney National Park, resin, acrylic, 185 × 85cm Photographer Rory Moore

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Joseph Walsh furniture / troscán Enignum Locus Chairs – walnut Photographer Norman Wilcox-Geissen

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Kathleen Walsh wood / adhmad Amber wave #2 – wood and resin, 20 × 20.5cm Blue Dune – wood and resin, 26 × 26cm Photographer Roland Paschhoff

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Gráinne Watts ceramics / ceirmeacht Indigo wall ‘Bindu’ – earthstone, underglazes, 57 × 14cm Photographer Rory Moore

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Zelouf & Bell furniture / troscán Here, on the edge of what we know – cocktail cabinet, pressure-dyed ripple sycamore, stainless steel, white quartz, brass, Irish goatskin vellum, LED lighting, mother-of-pearl, gold Letraset, 188 × 90 × 450cm Photographer Roland Paschhoff

Michael Rice Axiomilia (and detail) Stoneware clay, paper clay, 65 × 65 × 10cm Photographer Michael Rice

PORTFOLIO

critical selection 2021–2022 maker profiles

Scott Benefield Roger Bennett Paul Bokslag Emma Bourke Max Brosi Cathy Burke Úna Burke Anne Butler Edmond Byrne Hugo Byrne Mike Byrne Stuart Cairns Mary Conroy Jack Doherty Sara Flynn Jennifer Hickey Joe Hogan Alison Kay John Lee Antonio Julio Lopez Castro Alan Meredith Cecilia Moore Sadhbh Mowlds Cara Murphy Mary Nagle Nuala O’Donovan Nigel O’Reilly Helen O’Shea Annemarie O’Sullivan Annemarie Reinhold Michael Rice Emer Roberts Peter Sheehan & Cathal Loughnane Matt Smith Sasha Sykes Joseph Walsh Kathleen Walsh Gráinne Watts Zelouf & Bell

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Scott Benefield

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

glass / gloine

‘My work continues to explore contemporary applications of glassblowing techniques using cane work and murrine that originated in Venice during the sixteenth century. This work typically uses elements and patterns that are embedded in the molten glass at the beginning of the blowing process – as distinct from decoration that is applied to a cold form, such as engraving, enamelling or the application of decals – so that the pattern is shaped, stretched and twisted as the vessel itself takes its final form.

This work provides me with an intimate connection to the long history of the medium, and allows me to add my voice to the conversation by creating innovative expressions with this ancient technique.’

Scott completed his MFA at Ohio State University. He is based in Ballintoy, Co. Antrim where he runs an artisianal glassblowing studio practice with his wife, glass artist Andrea Spencer.

maker profile

Scott Benefield www.benefieldspencerglassshop.com info@benefieldspencerglass.com Collections and Commissions • Museum of Glass, Tacoma, WA, USA • Museum of American Glass, Millville, NJ, USA • North Lands Creative Glass, Lybster, Scotland • Sir Elton John Collection, London, England • National Glass Centre, Sunderland, England • Arts Council of Northern Ireland

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Recent Awards • Freelands Foundation Emergency Fund • Support for the Individual Artist, Arts Council of Northern Ireland • Anna Chenye Purchase Award, Island Art Centre, Lisburn, Northern Ireland • Design & Crafts Council of Ireland Craftsmanship & Innovation Award • Rosemary James Memorial Bursary, Arts Council of Northern Ireland • Artist in Residence, Corning Museum of Glass • Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust award • Lifetime Membership Award, Glass Art Society • Fulbright-Hays grant

Recent/Current Exhibitions

Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork Collect, Gallery Ten, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK Loud & Clear: A National Glass Centre Touring Exhibition, various UK venues 138th Exhibition of the Royal Ulster Academy, Ulster Museum, Belfast Dine, Ruthin Craft Centre, Ruthin, Wales; Goldsmiths’ Centre, London, UK Lasting Impressions, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny Material: Light, Messums Gallery, Wiltshire, UK British Glass Biennale, Stourbridge, UK Irish Glass Bienniale 2017, National College of Art & Design, Dublin

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Roger Bennett

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

wood / adhmad

Working mostly with sycamore, Roger Bennett creates distinctive one-off bowls and vessels. These usually thin-walled objects are inlaid with silver patterns in individually drilled holes, sometimes numbering in thousands.

‘With silver I can indulge my love of order, impose my markings on the wood’s surface, complementing the natural flows and eddies of the grain with my precise patterns of dots.’

Water-based dyes enhance the wood grain in colours selected to bring out the inherent qualities of each particular piece of wood.

Sycamore’s pale surface makes it an excellent canvas for these colouring techniques but Roger sometimes uses other woods such as cherry, beech, hornbeam and walnut. The silky, sensuous sheen is achieved with a finish of Danish oil.

‘I love wood, the uniqueness of each piece, the history of the tree’s life preserved in the ring patterns and figuring. I dream of making a bowl as strong as an eggshell, as heavy as a whisper. Of capturing and fixing the colours which so move me – drake mallard green, oil on water, midnight in midsummer, frosty night skies. A completed bowl should satisfy all our senses. Whenever a bowl is right it sings.’ Roger works from his studio in Dublin.

maker profile

Roger Bennett www.rogerbennettwoodturner.com parkbenn@gmail.com Collections and Commissions • National Museum of Ireland • Ulster Museum • Irish Department of Foreign Affairs (Embassies Collection) • Design and Crafts Council of Ireland • Office of Public Works, Ireland • Dublin Airport Authority • Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA • Fuller Craft Museum, Massachusetts, USA • The Contemporary Museum, Hawaii, USA • Columbus State University, Georgia, USA • Mobile Museum of Art, Alabama, USA Recent Awards 2020 Selected for inclusion in the Homo Faber Guide 2016 Established Maker Award (Woodturning), RDS National Crafts Competition, Dublin

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2012

2006 2005

Crafts Council of Ireland Purchase Award, RDS National Crafts Competition, Dublin ‘Standard Setters’ article, SIrish Arts Review 1st prize (Woodturning), RDS National Crafts Competition, Dublin

2019–2020

2019 2018 2018–2020

Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork

Elements, American Association of Woodturners POP Exhibition and Auction, AAW Gallery of Wood Art, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA 2020 After the Fall, South Tipperary Arts Centre, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary Nature/Nurture, American Association of Woodturners POP Exhibition and Auction (online)

2018–2021

2018

2017

2016

Surface Matters, Dublin Castle, Dublin; CCAM, Barcelona, Spain; National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny Wood, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, UK Wood Work, Blue Egg Gallery, Wexford Small Treasures, Wood Symphony Gallery, California (online), USA Turned and Sculpted Wood, Wood Symphony Gallery, California (online), USA Spring Exhibition, Stour Gallery, Shipston-onStour, Warwickshire, UK The Maker’s Hand, RDS, Dublin Narratives in Making, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny and Ruthin Craft Centre, Wales, UK Up Front, Craft Centre & Design Gallery, Leeds, UK

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Paul Bokslag

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

paper / páipéar

‘I enjoy being immersed in a making process. I need to connect with the material and to see the work grow under my hands. Papercutting is like drawing with a knife. It is intuitive, slow and labour intensive. By adding gesture and form over a longer period, works develop organically and gain an energy of their own. “Mistakes” are taken on board and become part of the final piece. I love the simplicity and fragile nature of papercuts and the fact that every mark is different and that the hand of the maker can be found in every single line. Much of my work is about the meeting of positive and negative space, both in 2D and in 3D. It is something that keeps fascinating me. Papercutting is an ideal medium in that context in that the line loses its physicality and becomes a pure boundary between positive and negative. I like using ephemeral and minimal materials such as paper and twine to work on site-specific installations in larger locations and to look at space in a new light.’

Originally from The Netherlands, Paul now lives and works in Callan, Co. Kilkenny.

maker profile

Paul Bokslag www.paulbokslag.com paulbokslag@gmail.com Collections and Commissions • Office of Public Works • Camphill Communities of Ireland • Waterford Healing Arts Trust • University Hospital Waterford • The Mayson Hotel, Dublin • Private Collections in Ireland, UK, • Netherlands, Germany, Austria • Facebook Artist-in-Residence mural, Dublin Recent Awards 2020 Residency, Cill Rialaig Artist Retreat, Ballinskelligs, Co. Kerry 2019 Residency, Cill Rialaig Artist Retreat, Ballinskelligs, Co. Kerry 2018 Residency Award, Dunamaise Open Submission Prize, Arthouse, Stradbally, Co. Laois Artist-in-Residence, The Breadwinner Exhibition, Butler Gallery, Kilkenny

101

2017

2011

Residency Bursary, Kilkenny County Council, Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Co. Monaghan Healthway International Arts and Health Fellowship with DADAA, Fremantle, WA (co-recipient)

Recent/Current Exhibition SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2021 Curious Treasures II, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny 2019 The Space Between, Watergarden Gallery, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny 2017 Mountshannon Arts Festival, Mountshannon, Co. Clare 2016 Shaft, Culture Night and Open House Dublin, Temple Bar Gallery + Studios Atrium, Dublin 2014 Waking Up in Waterford, Waterford Healing Arts Trust, University Hospital Waterford

2013

2012

2011

Papierwerken, Hospice Issoria, Leiden, the Netherlands Full Circle, Watergate Theatre Upstairs Gallery, Kilkenny Rock Paper Scissors, Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford Paperwork, Signal Arts Centre, Bray, Co. Wicklow Papercuts, Abhainn Rí Festival, Callan, Co. Kilkenny

GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND FAIRS 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2020 Connected, Kilkenny Sculpture Trail, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny Soon is Now, Guinness Storehouse, Dublin Journall, Online Lockdown Programme and Exhibition curated

by Valeria Ceregini 2019 Artists in Craft, Cill Rialaig Arts Centre, Co. Kerry

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Emma Bourke

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

glass / gloine

Emma Bourke is interested in tangible relationships to history, mythology, and folklore. ‘Through stories and objects, we root ourselves in culture and connect to the land. As an artist, I explore the concept that different communities evolve together in tandem, influenced as much by the latent power of the natural environment as by rapid urban developments.’

Her work pushes the technical boundaries of lampworking, and her practice is centred on her research into ethnobotany. ‘Recently my work has focused on the mythology and colloquial knowledge around traditional and contemporary uses of wild plants, examining the effects of flora on the body and mind. For example, there was a tradition in Irish monasteries to create a Lubgort or enclosed herb garden to treat the sick. Cures included: foxgloves for the heart; St John’s wort for depression and speedwell was a good “cure-all”. Cures were also passed down from mother to daughter and health care during this period was a female domestic activity. The materials I use are timeless and sustainable.’

Emma holds a BDes Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin and an MFA from the University of Sunderland, UK. She is based in Westport, Co. Mayo.

maker profile

Emma Bourke ekbourke@gmail.com Collections and Commissions • Trinity College Collection, Chemistry Department, Trinity College, Dublin • Maurice Ward Art Handlers Collection, Dublin • Mayo County Council Collection, Áras an Chontae, Castlebar, Mayo • Museum of Ireland Collection, Out of Storage, Museum of Decorative Arts and History, Dublin • Thesis on Blaschka Glass, Blaschka Archive, Rakow Library, Corning Museum of Glass, USA

102

Recent Awards 2019 Designer of the Allianz Business to Arts Awards 2016 Jewellery Designer

of the Year, Irish Fashion

Innovation Awards 2014 Boris Bally Residency, REclaim/Repurpose,

Culture Craft,

Northern Ireland Future Makers Practioner Award, Travel and Training Golden Fleece Award, Merit Prize 2013 Futures Fund, University

of Sunderland, UK John & Elsie Burton Flamework Scholarship, Pilchuck Glass School, USA 2009 Future Makers 2009,

Craft Council of Ireland, Kilkenny

Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2020 Glass is Biotiful, Biot International Glass Festival, France Ireland Glass Biennale, Dublin Castle, Dublin Surface Matters, Portfolio, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny 2019 Islander, Venice Biennale,

Italy Dreaming of Plants, International Festival of Glass, UK Taking Time, DLR Lexicon, Dublin 2018 Ipseity, Westival Gallery, Mayo 2017 Ireland Glass Biennale,

NCAD Gallery, Dublin RDS National Crafts Competition, Dublin 2015 Portfolio, Solomon Gallery, Dublin

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Max Brosi

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

wood / adhmad

‘Beach pebbles, driftwood, corroded ships’ parts, and eroded whale bones washed up on the shore have etched their way into my consciousness from childhood.’

Max Brosi’s current body of work references the sea with carved ripples, wave shapes and flowing outlines. The surface of his work is bleached and ebonised to remove the distraction of the colour of the wood while enhancing the light and shadow effects. He is drawn to the vessel form because it ‘is challenging in its unforgiving simplicity and yet it draws us as woodturners to create our own interpretation based on our perceptions and sensibilities’.

‘More and more, my work is about marrying form with my lifelong experience of working with wood; its materiality in terms of how it behaves, and how it distorts during drying and beyond. The surface left behind by the swooping motion of a razor-sharp carving gouge is a texture inherently associated with wood, yet those burnished scallops in the material are also reminiscent of ripples on the surface of the sea.’

Max received a BSc in Furniture Design and Manufacture from GMIT Letterfrack, Co. Galway in 2006. He is based in Co. Leitrim.

maker profile

Max Brosi maxbrosi81@gmail.com Collections and Commissions • The Center for Art in Wood, Philadelphia, USA Recent Awards 2016 RDS National Crafts Competition, woodturning category runner up, RDS, Dublin 2nd prize ‘Artistic’ Category, Irish Woodturner’s Guild annual national competition 2015 RDS National Crafts Competition, woodturning category winner, RDS, Dublin Excellence Award, Instant Gallery, AAW symposium, Pittsburgh, PA, USA 1st prize ‘Artistic’ Category, Irish Woodturner’s Guild annual national competition

103

2014

1st prize ‘Open’ Category, Irish Woodturner’s Guild annual national competition 1st prize ‘Artistic’ Category, Irish Woodturner’s Guild annual national competition 2nd prize ‘Artistic’ Category, Irish Woodturner’s Guild annual national competition 2nd prize ‘Open’ Category, Irish Woodturner’s Guild annual national competition

Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork

After the Fall, Blue Egg Gallery, Wexford Broken Beauty, Collect 2021, represented

by Sarah Myerscough Gallery, London, UK

2020

2019

INTERSECT Chicago, represented by Kirsten Muenster Projects, USA Curious Treasures, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny After the Fall, South Tipperary Arts Centre, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary Objects to Mark Time, Sarah Myerscough Gallery, London, UK Crowded Thresholds, The Luan Gallery, Athlone, Co. Westmeath Crowded Thresholds, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny Traces, American Association of Woodturners (AAW) Symposium, Raleigh, NC; The Gallery of Wood Art, St. Paul, MN, USA Max Brosi – Inspiration and Experimentation Solo Online Exhibition with Wood Symphony Gallery (www.woodsymphony. com)

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Cathy Burke

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

ceramics / ceirmeacht

Cathy Burke’s work explores ‘the fragile charm found in nature’s process of regeneration. Looking at the rugged beauty found in the constant cycle of decay and renewal – there is a certain aesthetic found in the detritus and even more in the following resurgence’.

Cathy’s creative process begins with drawings to investigate landscape, topography, the ocean and botanical forms. From these she creates stoneware slab built pieces that display a sense of natural contours and movement.

Ecological concerns inform her work: ‘I use the language of the form to display a fragile and vulnerable impermanence, while the surface quality reflects the natural energy found in water and seaweeds, rusts and lichens. Native mosses and lichens are signifiers of unpolluted air and are an important element of a stable environment.’

The forms are finished in glazes that recall ‘dramatic oceans, corrosive rusts, vibrant vegetation and delicate mosses and lichens. The work imitates a process of corrosion, decomposition, revival and rejuvenation.’

Cathy received a BA (Honours) Craft Design: Ceramics from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin in 2014. She is based in Co. Wicklow.

maker profile

Cathy Burke www.cathyburkeartist.com cathyburkeart@gmail.com Collections and Commissions • Irish Embassy, Belgium • Dromoland Castle • Cill Rialaig Arts Project • Irish Embassy Korea • National State Collection (OPW Purchase) • Art Works at Home, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Arts Recent Awards 2021 Shortlisted RDS National

Crafts Competition 2020 Shortlisted International

KOGEI Award in

Toyama, Japan

Future Makers

Practitioner Award 2018 Irish Ceramics Award,

Sculpture in Context,

National Botanic

Gardens, Dublin 2017 Highly Commended

Award, Irish Ceramics

Awards, Mill Cove Gallery

104

2016

2015

2015

Blue Egg Gallery Bursary Future Makers Practitioner Award RDS National Crafts Competition – Emerging Maker in Ceramics RDS National Crafts Competition – Ceramics Ireland Award Thomas Dammann Jr Trust Award

Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork

International KOGEI Awards, Toyama and Takaoka, Japan 2020 Distant Ceramics, Online Juried Exhibition – www.distantceramics.com 2020 Unfolding, Lexicon Gallery, Dublin Land/Marks, Ceramics Ireland Juried Triennial, Farmleigh, Dublin; Faenza Italy Handmade in Europe, Handwerksform, Hannover, Germany

2019

2018

2017

Ceramics Ireland Selected, Rathfarnham Castle, Co. Dublin Sculpture in Context, National Botanic Gardens, Dublin Quirky Vibrant and Not So Familiar Stories, Valcke Art Gallery, Ghent, Belgium slip.flux.flock: intuitive forms, Olivier Cornet Gallery, Dublin Ceramics Ireland Selected Exhibition, Rathfarnham Castle, Co. Dublin Sculpture in Context, National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin Irish Ceramics Awards 2008–2018, Mill Cove Gallery, Kerry Ceramics Ireland Selected Exhibition, Rathfarnham Castle, Co. Dublin

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Úna Burke

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

leatherwork / saothar leathair

Celebrating the strength and resilience of the human spirit, Úna Burke’s goal is to ‘change people’s perceptions of what they know, or think they know’. Her technically challenging and visually captivating wearable leather objects can be worn ‘as a visual representation of the warrior within, a daily reminder of bravery in battling the challenges life throws our way’.

Her collection consists of body pieces, belts, corsets, handbags and jewellery, to champion ‘all types of hero: the quiet, the loud, and all those in between’. Using traditional leatherworking techniques and contemporary aesthetics, her pieces are constructed using vegetabletanned bovine leather and brass fittings. As well as human stories, Úna’s inspiration comes from psychological, military and medical references.

Some of her sculptural pieces are intentionally unwearable. Her aim with these pieces is to provoke the viewer into questioning perceptions and attitudes towards the body. Úna completed a BA in Fashion Design of Limerick School of Art and design in 2003 and went on to achieve an MA in Fashion Artefact from Cordwainers College at the London College of Fashion in 2007. She recently moved her practice from London to her native Co. Roscommon.

maker profile

Úna Burke www.unaburke.com una@unaburke.com

• • • • •

Collections and Commissions National Museum of Ireland Simone Handbag Museum, South Korea Design and Craft Council of Ireland Phillip Lim Private Art Collection Daphne Guinness Private Art Collection Recent Awards 2021 BCDE Mentoring

Programme Recipient 2020 Irish Made Awards,

Fashion Prize Winner 2019 LIT Alumni Award

Recipient for

Contribution to Culture

Business of Fashion,

Textiles & Tech, SME

R&D Support Programme Finalist 2018 Centre for Fashion

Enterprise Pioneer

Mentoring Award Winner 2017 Leathersellers Exhibition

Grant Winner

105

Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2020 Reflections on Resilience, National Museum of Ireland 2019 Bags & Corsets, Spielzeug Welten Museum, Switzerland Surface Matters, Dublin Castle; CCAM, Barcelona, Spain and National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny Arc Abstracted, 51A Dawson Street, Dublin Revelations, Palais Royal, Paris Cast, Millenium Court Arts Centre 2018 ING Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries, London, UK 10 Hands, Hangzhou Craft Week, China Why, What, Who, Touring Exhibition, DESIGN.VE at VENICE BIENNALE, Italy and BIFT Park, Beijing, China

2017

2016

Ealáin, National Gallery of Ireland.

Seduction, Windmill Lane, Dublin.

Hi!Fashion, Touring Exhibition, Farmleigh Gallery, Dublin and National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny Leather, London Craft Week, Leatherseller’s Hall, London, UK Narratives in Making, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny and Ruthin Craft Centre, Wales Fashion, A Second Skin, Dubai Art Week, The cARTel, Dubai & Paris Sorbonne University, Abu Dhabi, UAE Shape the Future, Touring Exhibition, NCAD, Dublin & National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Anne Butler

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

ceramics / ceirmeacht

‘My working method is intrinsically connected to the act of making and the endless experimentation with the changing state of Parian porcelain both in its raw and fired state. My wide palette of techniques, which include casting, hand-building and printing, are continuously being challenged and developed. Multiple firings accentuates the porcelain’s satin, marblelike quality when solid and the delicacy and translucency when thin.

Many of my abstract sculptures explore these material qualities through construction and deconstruction.’

‘There is much reminiscent of archaeology, geology and architecture in my work which explores the relationship between process, material and time. My sculptures are inspired by natural and manmade structures and are constructed – layered – deconstructed – fused – collapsed, excavated and fragmented to reveal associations between material culture, shared cultural meanings and individual memory as well as referencing contrasting qualities of strength/fallibility and permanence/ loss and notions of balance.’

Anne received a BA Ceramics from the University of Ulster, Belfast in 1985 and an MA Ceramics from the University of Wales in 2000. She is based in Carryduff, Co. Down.

maker profile

Anne Butler www.annebutlerceramics.com annebutlerceramics@gmail.com Collections and Commissions • Changchung International Ceramic Museum, China • Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Art Collection • Irish Contemporary Ceramic collection, Hunts Museum Contemporary Ceramic Collection, Limerick Recent Awards 2020 Honourable Mention,

Korean International

Ceramics Biennale 2020 Ceramic Monthly

Competition – Contrast

and Harmony 2020 Arts Council of Northern

Ireland, Support for

Individual Artists 2019 Arts Council of Northern

Ireland, Support for

individual Artists 2018 Rosemary James

Memorial Fund Award,

Administered by ACNI

106

2017 Sponsorship from

on-line Ceramics for

Innovations in Ceramics, Cambridge 2016 Arts Council of Northern

Ireland Support for

Individual Artists,

General Award Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork

Korean International

Ceramics Biennale, 2021,

Collect Art Fair,

Material in Meditation,

Represented by

Ruup & Form

London Art, London –

Platform, Represented by

Ruup & Form

Potverdorie, Keramiekcentrum

Tiendschuur Tegelen, Netherlands 2020 International Academy

of Ceramics New

Members Exhibition,

Guozhong Ceramic Art

Museum, Beijing, China

Royal Ulster Academy

Annual Exhibition,

Ulster Museum. Belfast

Ceramic Ireland

Triennial, Land Marks,

Farmleigh Gallery,

Dublin. Touring to Argilla

Faenza, Italy 2021

Unlocked, Craft NI

Gallery, Belfast.

Arts Council Collection

Exhibition, Craft NI

Gallery, Belfast.

RHA Annual Exhibition,

(Shortlist) Dublin Changchung

International

Ceramics Festival,

Changcung, China 2019 Korean International

Ceramic Biennale,

Icheon, Korea

Royal Ulster Academy

Annual Exhibition, Belfast

Royal Society of

Sculptors Annual

Exhibition, London, UK

Artists in Craft, Cill Rialiag

Arts Centre, Co. Kerry

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Edmond Byrne

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

glass / gloine

Edmond Byrne explores sustainable practice in glassmaking in his latest body of work. Over the last decade, he collected and accumulated a large body of various off-cuts from previous projects and collections.

‘Each piece had the DNA of the work they played an essential role in creating – a window to a memory of works long gone. Over time they became a focus for reflection and, in their current composition, a vehicle to explore an alternative language of form and colour interplay in search of a more sustainable way of making.’

For this current collection, Edmond found himself working with predetermined elements rather than creating from scratch. Using these ‘beautiful fragments with their own history, dominated by their stark disposable utility,’ he cut, ground, polished, and assembled the pieces to construct new objects. ‘A consistent thread in my practice is experimentation, stacking and play, set against a backdrop of colour and texture, and that creativity follows through with this collection.’

Edmond graduated with a Bachelor of Design in Craft from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin in 2000. In 2010, he received an MA from the Royal College of Art in London. He is currently based in Surrey, UK.

maker profile

Edmond Byrne www.edmondbyrne.com edmondbyrneglass@gmail.com Collections and Commissions • V&A Museum, London, UK • The National Collection, Ireland • Ulster Museum, Belfast Recent Awards 2020 Homo Faber Guide, Selected

Collect Open, Selected, 2018 RDS Irish Craft Bursary Winner

Jerwood Makers Open, Shortlisted

Penland Fellowship, Shortlisted 2017 Portfolio: Critical

Selection, Winner

UCA Overseas Research

Travel Fund, Winner 2015 Art and Craft Design

Award, Shortlisted,

UCA Overseas Research

Travel Fund – Winner 2011 Dan Klein Memorial

Bursary, Contemporary

107

2009

2005–2007

Glass Society, Winner Art and Craft Design Award – Shortlisted Pilchuck Partner Scholarship – Winner DCCI Network Funding Bursary – Winner

Recent/Current Exhibitions 2022 Material Dialogues, Glass and Metal Collaboration, Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, UK 2021–2022 Radical – Craft 3, Direktorenhaus Museum, Berlin, Germany 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork

Odd and Even – A Collection, Maison Louis Carre, France.

2020 The Same as the Other, Handwerkskammer für München und Oberbayern, Munich, Germany 2020 Collect Open, Metal and Glass Collaboration, Somerset House, London, UK

2019–2020 2019

2018

Ireland Glass Biennale, Dublin Castle, Dublin Tech X, Hockey Gallery, UCA, Farnham.

Includes a film and talk about research collaboration.

British Glass Biennale Exhibition Glasshouse Art Centre, Stourbridge, UK Natural Beauty, Galerie Handwerk, Munich, Germany Heavenly Bodies Earthly Forms, Joanna Bird Gallery, London, UK Ensemble, Solo Show with Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, UK Hot and Cold, with London Glassblowing, London, UK Reflections on Translucence, group show with Studio Fusion Gallery, artist talk with Corinne Julius, London, UK

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Hugo Byrne

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

metals / miotail

Hugo Byrne makes knives for everyday use in the kitchen using a combination of traditional and contemporary techniques. He asserts that it is essential for his knives to work well on a practical and ergonomic level, but equally essential for them to be objects of beauty in themselves.

Sustainability is an important aspect to his practice; handles are made from natural materials such as wood or turf, or found materials such as recycled plastic. The finished knife itself becomes a sustainable object, a potentially lifelong useful and beautiful tool for its owner.

‘Over time, the high carbon steel blades begin to patinate and darken, showing the story of their use, and their relationship with the user.

Combined with beautiful, natural and gathered handle materials, I believe this can engender a deep connection to the tool. The process of preparing food – and the previous life of these materials – encourages us to consider notions of sustainability, craft, creativity and our place in the world.’

Hugo studied Fine Art (Sculpture) in the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, graduating in 2012. He works to commission and is based in Limerick city.

maker profile

Hugo Byrne www.hugobyrneknives.com hugobyrneknives@gmail.com Collections and Commissions • Currently a waiting list of 16 months with over 250 knives on order Recent Awards 2019 Emerging Design Talent,

Image Interiors & Living Magazine

Future Makers Studio

Support, Design & Crafts

Council of Ireland

International Mobility

Award, Limerick City &

County Culture and Arts Department Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2020 GENERATION,

National Design & Craft

Gallery, Kilkenny

108

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Mike Byrne

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

ceramics / ceirmeacht

‘Until now, I have been making large jug forms, using a loose interpretation of the elements; the body, handle and snib, in such a way as to try to break down the boundaries between design, craft and art. My current work is a development of those forms and has evolved over the last while. I have always used sketch books to help me nudge my work along, but lately I have been reacting more during the clay stage, allowing actions to guide, and to be guided by what is happening on the bench. I find this process very exciting and am constantly challenged by how I feel about the objects and the making process. The surfaces, controlled and knitted together in the mystery of the kiln, are a delight and an enigma to me.’

Mike graduated from the Ceramics course at Limerick School of Art & Design in 1977, followed by a period working as a designer in the Kilkenny Design Workshops. Having lectured throughout his career he went on to become Course Leader of the Ceramics Design Course at Limerick School of Art & Design until he retired in 2016. He is based in Limerick City.

maker profile

Mike Byrne www.mikebyrne.ie mikebyrneceramics@gmail.com Collections and Commissions • Ulster Museum • Limerick City Gallery of Art • AIB Bank • Áras an Uachtarán • University of Limerick • Mary Immaculate College • Price Waterhouse • Office of Public Works • Glór, Ennis, Co. Clare • Limerick Chamber of Commerce • National Self Portrait Collection • Handwerksform Hannover, Germany Recent Awards 2016 Peter Brennan Award

for Innovation.

1987–1988 Arts Council Bursary 1993 Kaleidoscope Award (EU)

to Art Network Europe 1996–1999 Art Flights, Arts Council

109

Recent/Current Exhibitions SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2020 In the Window, in association with the Liverpool Irish Festival, The Bluecoat Display Centre, Liverpool, UK 2018 Into the Half Light, Custom House Gallery and Studio, Westport, Co. Mayo 2008 Orto Botanico, Limerick Printmakers, Limerick 2005 For Murray O’Laoire Architects a series of 16 large format woodcuts for apartments on Gerard Griffin St. Limerick.

2004–2005 Urbs Antiqua, New woodcuts, University of Limerick, Limerick 2003 Skies Over Venetia and other Vistas, Glór Ennis, Co. Clare 2001 MA Show, Limerick City Hall, Limerick 1996 Recent Prints, Foynes Library, Co. Limerick

1995

1992

1991 1989

Hard Ground, Chris Doswell’s Gallery, Limerick 12 Large Vessels, Riverrun Gallery, Limerick; CCoI Gallery Powerscourt Townhouse Dublin Michael Byrne, Gilvary Gallery Galway New Work, Foynes Library, and Mary Immaculate College Limerick

GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND FAIRS 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork

Karamiek Triennale, CODA Museum, Apledoorn, The Netherlands 2020 In the Window, The Bluecoat Display Centre Liverpool, UK Land Marks, Farmleigh House, Dublin

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Stuart Cairns

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

mixed media / meáin mheasctha

Stuart Cairns’s practice involves combining natural materials and found objects alongside precious metals. Using traditional silversmithing techniques, he creates artefacts which resemble the forms of traditional tableware and domestic objects. His work investigates the environment and his relationship with it. He carries this out through walking, photography, drawing, making and collecting found objects.

‘These quiet, small forms sit as poems to the landscape, suggesting wanders by the sea, wonders in the forest and small moments in the city. They show the richness of the material world and the wonders of the everyday which can light up the imagination. Abstracted forms of vessels, implements and tools are referenced, placing human presence within the work and a sense of place. The resulting objects speak of an implied life, of a past and a place, of things being carried, left and lifted once again.’

Stuart graduated from the University of Ulster in 2000 with a BA in Fine and Applied Arts specialising in silversmithing and jewellery. In 2006 he completed a Master’s in Applied Arts. He is based in Co. Down.

maker profile

Stuart Cairns Collections and Commissions • The Arts Council of Northern Ireland • The Ulster Museum • The University of Ulster Recent Awards 2014 The Rosemary James

Memorial Award for Craft 2012 Arts Council of Northern

Ireland General Arts Award 2006 Prize for New Work in

Silver, Association

of British Designer Silversmiths 2006 Dean’s Prize, Faculty of

Arts, University of Ulster 2004 Arts Council of Northern

Ireland General Arts Award 2000 The Presidents Award,

Royal Ulster Academy

110

Recent/Current Exhibitions SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2018 This Other Place, Pollen

Studio, Northern Ireland 2017 All That Sits Unsaid,

Pollen Studio, Northern Ireland 2016 Place and Process,

R-Space Gallery, Lisburn,

Northern Ireland 2015 Gathered/Formed, Konsthantverkarna,

Stockholm, Sweden GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND FAIRS 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2019 The Art Of Gathering, New Craftsman Gallery, St.Ives, UK Land[ed], Lavit Gallery, Cork Objects and Appetites, Baltimore Jewellery Centre, Baltimore, USA Retracing Nature, Make Hauser & Wirth, Somerset, UK

2018

2017

2016 2015

2014

2013

2012

Leviathan, Millennium Court Art Centre, Northern Ireland New Luxury, Cube Design Museum, Netherlands Leffel, Avrir, Switzerland Narratives in the Making, Ruthin Craft Centre, Wales, UK Silver Speaks, V&A Museum, London, UK Home, Taidebunkkeri, Finland Side to Side, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny; Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris, France Danske Sølvsmede with British Guests, Koldinghus, Denmark Setting the Scene, The Craft Study Centre, UCA, Farnham, UK New Silver, Galerie RA, Amsterdam, Netherlands

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Mary Conroy

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

ceramics / ceirmeacht

Mary Conroy’s practice explores humanity’s relationship with the natural world. ‘This involves the questioning of the human and non-human relationship, its importance, its current state, and more recently, loss and remembrance.’

Using ceramic Platonic solids such as icosahedrons and dodecahedrons as basic forms, Mary uses sgraffito to line the surface and then glazes it in parts. ‘The surface design and the 3D form cannot be viewed simultaneously. The form is lost to the linear diversions on the flat surface or vice versa. The surface and form exist equivocally.’

Disconnection from the natural world in the digital age is an underlying tension in her work. The sculptural forms ‘are a visual metaphor to represent the confusion and disconnect between a real and reified existence’.

Mary received a BDes (Hons) Ceramic Design in 2004 and an MA (Hons) Social Practice & the Creative Environment in 2011, both from Limerick School of Art & Design. She lives and works in Limerick.

maker profile

Mary Conroy www.maryconroyart.com conroymary@gmail.com

2018 + 2017

2017 Collections and Commissions • Fingal Public Art Collection, Fingal, Co. Dublin • Milford Hospice Garden Sculptures, Milford Hospice, Limerick • Permanent Collection Castle Espie Wildlife reserve, Belfast.

• Permanent Garden Installation at Vizes Court Sheltered Accommodation, Limerick • Permanent Installation – Wildlife Shelters, at the Hunt Museum Gardens, Limerick • LASD Alumni Collection • LIBLSAD Artist’s Book Collection Recent Awards 2020 Seed Fund, Butler Gallery, Kilkenny Artlinks Collaboration award for Materials Matter / Abair Abair, Kilkenny 2019 Tyrone Guthrie Bursary, Limerick City and County Council

111

2016

2013

2012

Arts Office Mobility Grant, Limerick County Council Shortlisted for RDS National Crafts Competition, Dublin LSAD Drawing Awards winner, Limerick School of Art and Design Scarva Pottery Supplies and Ceramics Ireland Travel Bursary Grants under the Arts, Residency Funding Environmental Fund for Biodiversity Awareness, Dept. Arts, Heritage Gaeltacht Grants under the Arts, Project Funding Artist Bursary from Arts Office, Limerick City Council

Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2020–2021 The Feminist Supermarket, Ormston House, Limerick

2020

2019

2018

Govan Stones, Govan, Scotland Folkestone Fringe, Folkestone, Kent, UK SEED Change, Gdansk, Poland SAC – Special Area of ConVersation, Portrane Beach, Fingal, Co. Dublin Metatron’s Cube, (Solo Show) Signal Art Gallery, Wicklow Erkyna’s Garden, workshop and co-produced artwork, Levadia, Greece Street Doves, Solo show, Phoenix Gallery, Athens, Greece Collaborative Willow and Paper Kiln, Ceramics International Festival, Thomastown, Kilkenny Site, Ormston House, Limerick A Manifesto of Ecology, Phoenix Gallery, Athens, Greece Irish Ceramic Awards 2008 to 2018, Mill Cove, Kenmare, Co. Cork

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Jack Doherty

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

ceramics / ceirmeacht

Jack creates his work using one clay, one mineral and a single firing, ‘over time the process has become simpler and more refined in the belief that stripping away the unnecessary can produce work with complexity and depth. As close to a pure and sustainable ceramics practice as I can achieve.’

Using soda as a catalyst to create a reaction with copper produces a subtle palette of colour and texture. He works ‘from the idea that history, time, and tradition can be a dynamic and changing force, I consider our need for clay objects and ask questions about their changing role in a contemporary world. I look at the ways people made things before art or craft.’

Jack’s involvement with contemporary ceramics has seen him in many roles, as a lecturer, curator and conference organiser, Chairman of the Craft Potters Association for twelve years and a founder member of Ceramic Art London. Born in Co. Derry, Jack studied Ceramics at the Ulster College of Art and Design, Belfast. His studio is in Mousehole, Cornwall, UK.

maker profile

Jack Doherty www.dohertyporcelain.com jack@dohertyporcelain.com Collections and Commissions • Mashiko Ceramic Museum, Japan Irish Contemporary Ceramic Collection, • Hunt Museum, Limerick • National Museum of Ireland, Dublin • Ulster Museum • FPAV museum Fuping China • Belfast Potteries Museum, Hanley • Liverpool Museum • Princeshof Ceramics Museum, Netherlands • Castle Museum, Nottingham Recent Awards 2020 Finalist, Loewe

Foundation Craft Prize 2019 November Director,

International Soda-firing

Conference, Fuping, China 2018 September–October,

Artist in Residence,

Cloud Forest Studio,

Taipei Taiwan 2016 Artist in Residence,

112

Mashiko Ceramic Museum, Japan JMMA Artist in Residence, Fuping, China Janet Mansfield Memorial Award

2019

Recent/Current Exhibitions SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2020 Loewe Foundation Craft Prize, Exhibition of Finalist Works, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France (Rescheduled May 2021) LAND/MARKS, Ceramics Ireland Triennial Exhibition, Farmleigh Gallery, Dublin Of Place and Time, New Craftsman Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall, UK 2019–2020 Surface Matters: Dublin Castle, Dublin; Artesania Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain and National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny

2018

2017

2016

The Poetics of Fire, SKN Gallery, Xi’an, China Transition / Resonate Space, Newlyn Art Gallery, Cornwall, UK Solo Exhibition, Beaux Arts, Bath, UK Grounding, New Craftsman Gallery, St Ives, UK Grounding: Vessels from the Land, the Sea and the Sky, NTUE Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan Vessels from Grass Mountain, URS27M Gallery, Taipei, Taiwan Living Space, Mashiko Ceramics Museum, Japan Living Space, Contemporary Ceramics Centre, London; Beaux Arts Gallery, Bath New work, Biotop Gallery, Toyko & Osaka, Japan Waypoint, Market Place Gallery, Armagh, NI Craft Month

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Sara Flynn

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

ceramics / ceirmeacht

Sara Flynn’s love of form, line, and volume is eloquently expressed through her use of porcelain. Thrown forms evolve in a way similar to the process of sketching ‘with silhouettes and lines revisited, adjusted and tweaked’.

Before glazing and firing, the decorative forms are cut, reassembled, pushed and pulled, scratched and scraped.

The surface glaze is a critical element in Sara’s work. ‘I research extensively to find the best glaze for the form.’ Glazes are applied by pouring and spraying before the thrown forms are fired. The sculptural decorative vessels demonstrate Sara’s ever-evolving skills with thrown forms as well as the potential for new and exciting edges, contours and shapes.

Sara graduated from Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork in 1998 with a Degree in Ceramic Design. She is based is in Belfast.

maker profile

Sara Flynn www.saraflynnceramic.com saraflynn71@gmail.com Collections and Commissions • The V&A Museum, (Gift of C. Gorman Evans) London, UK • The Devonshire Collection, Chatsworth House, England, UK • The Gardiner Museum, Toronto, Canada • The Hunt Museum, Limerick • The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK • Loewe Collection (London Flagship store), UK • Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, China • The Art Institute Of Chicago, (Gift of M & T Root) Chicago, USA • Office of Public Works, Farmleigh House, Dublin • National Museum of Ireland • Columbus State University, Georgia, USA • Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, Cork, Ireland • Department of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Embassies Collection: Canberra, Australia (2005), Madrid, Spain (2007), The Hague, The Netherlands (2007), Beijing, China (2013)

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Recent Awards 2019 Golden Fleece Award – Merit 2017 Loewe Craft Prize Finalist 2016 Golden Fleece Award – Merit Recent/Current Exhibitions SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2021 Galerie de L’Ancienne

Poste, Toucy, France 2020 Erskine, Hall & Coe,

London, UK 2019 Sokyo Gallery,

Kyoto, Japan 2018 Erskine, Hall & Coe,

London, UK 2016 Erskine, Hall & Coe,

London, UK 2015 Ontogeny, Millennium

Court Arts Centre,

Portadown, Co. Armagh 2014 Erskine, Hall & Coe,

London, UK 2012 Erskine, Hall & Coe,

London, UK

GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND FAIRS 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2019 Design Miami, Florida,

U.S.A. (Represented by

Sokyo Gallery) 2019–2020 Surface Matters: Dublin

Castle, Dublin; Artesania

Catalunya, Barcelona,

Spain and National

Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny 2018 Modern Masters,

International Trade Fair,

Munich, Germany 2017 Chance Encounters 3 –

Lionel Wendt, Richard

Smith, Sara Flynn,

Curated by Jonathan

Anderson, Miami Design

District, Flordia, USA 2017 DISOBEDIENT BODIES,

JW Anderson Curates,

The Hepworth Gallery,

Wakefield, UK 2017 PAD, Paris, France

(Represented by

Movements Modernes Gallery)

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Jennifer Hickey

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

ceramics / ceirmeacht

Jennifer’s work explores porcelain’s delicate and ethereal qualities using an intricate approach to creation. Her sculptures are created using thousands of tiny porcelain pieces, hand-sewn onto fine tulle. Integral to her finished pieces are the slowness and repetition of the making process. Fragility, ephemerality and translucency are central themes to her work. The rituals of making, the physical rhythms, the process, and time involved are important aspects of her practice. ‘To sense but not to recognise is a common thread throughout.’ When assembled, the finely worked porcelain loosely references natural forms such as feathers or leaves.

Jennifer graduated from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin with a BDes in Ceramics. She is based in Dublin.

maker profile

Jennifer Hickey www.jenniferhickey.com jennynihici@hotmail.com Collections and Commissions • The National Museum of Ireland • The State Art Collection of Ireland Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2020 Land Marks, Farmleigh

Gallery, Dublin 2019–2020 Surface Matters: Dublin

Castle, Dublin; Artesania

Catalunya, Barcelona,

Spain and National Design

& Craft Gallery, Kilkenny 2018 Winter White, Taste

Contemporary Gallery,

Geneva, Switzerland

The Miniaturists,

The Scottish Gallery,

Edinburgh, Scotland

Homo Faber, The Best of

Europe, Celebration of

European Craftsmanship

Venice, Italy

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2017/2018

2017

2016

2015

Ealaín, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin Fired Earth, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Touchstone, Irish Contemporary Ceramics, Farmleigh Gallery, Dublin and National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny Narratives in Making, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny and Ruthin Craft Centre, Wales, UK Heritage & Diversity, East/West contemporary ceramics, Hanyang University Seoul, South Korea Finders and Keepers, Municipal Gallery, Dlr Lexicon, Co. Dublin Delicate Matter, Luan Gallery, Athlone Portfolio, Solomon Gallery, Dublin

Centred,

Irish Contemporary

Ceramics, Wandesford

Quay Gallery, Cork 2013 Solo exhibition, Rudolf

Heltzel Gallery, Kilkenny

Portfolio, RHA, Dublin

Future Beauty, National

Design & Craft Gallery,

Kilkenny and Farmleigh

Gallery, Dublin

Icon, Brown Thomas, Dublin

Collect, The Saatchi

Gallery, London

Made on Monday,

Block T, Dublin 2012 Portfolio, RHA, Dublin 2011 Rupture, Temple Bar, Dublin

TransFORM, Irish

Contemporary Ceramics,

Farmleigh Gallery, Dublin

Millennium Court Arts

Centre, Portadown,

Co. Armagh

The Source Arts Centre,

Thurles, Co. Tipperary

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Joe Hogan

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

basketry / caoladóireacht

Joe Hogan became a basketmaker as the living tradition of rural Irish basketmaking was in decline. He spent many years researching and making indigenous Irish baskets such as the cliabh (creel), the pardóg (hingebottomed creel) and pota gliomach (lobster pot). Over the past two decades, Joe has become more interested in artistic and sculptural baskets through a desire to connect more deeply with the natural world.

‘Rilke talks to us being “the bees of the invisible”, gathering the honey of the visible and storing it in the hive of our consciousness.

When I make artistic baskets I am trying to rediscover the richness in this store of images. I also hope it will touch the spirit of others in some way.’

His work is also influenced by environmental concerns: ‘the changes we need to make as a race will become possible only when we go beyond a merely rational analysis and begin to encompass the worlds of poetry and art to imagine new – and more responsible – ways of being in the world.

My work involves using basketry skills to express these ideas.’

Joe works from his studio in Loch na Fooey, Co. Galway.

maker profile

Joe Hogan www.joehoganbaskets.com joe@joehoganbaskets.com

• • • • • • • • • •

• •

Collections and Commissions Loewe Foundation Department of Foreign Affairs Ireland National Museum of Ireland Office of Public Works Ulster Museum Limerick College of Art Quinnipiac Famine Museum USA Boston College, USA Vissinggaard Museum, Denmark Pinolere Baskets of the World Collection, Canary Islands, Spain Museum of Country Life, Co. Mayo.

Collection of the Government of India Recent Awards 2018 Shortlist Loewe Craft prize 2015 RDS National Crafts

Competition: Overall

award of excellence;

California Gold Medal 2008 RDS National

Crafts Competition:

Reserve Award 2006 Crafts Council of Ireland

Bursary ( joint award).

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2005 First prize for artistic work

at the Pinolere baskets

of the World competition 2001 Heritage Council of

Ireland Award, for

making a collection of

indigenous Irish baskets

to be donated to the

Irish Basketmakers Association 2018 Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2020 Croíneamh, The Gallery at No. 46 Grand Parade, Cork Natural Room; Sarah Myerscough Gallery London, UK Collect London, (Represented by Oxford Ceramics Gallery), UK 2019 Loewe Baskets, Salone de Mobile, Milan, Italy Surface Matters, Coach House Dublin Castle, Dublin

Gathered From the Earth, Solo show as part of Galway International Arts Festival Kenny Gallery, Galway 21st Century Ireland in 21 Artworks, Glebe Gallery Churchill, Co. Donegal Baskets, Ruthin Craft Centre, Wales, UK Monumentality/ Fragility, European Applied Arts Exhibiton , Mons, Belgium and National Design & Craft Gallery and Kilkenny Castle Loewe Fashion Show, UNESCO, Paris, France Homo Faber, Venice, Italy Wood and Willow, Blue Egg Gallery , Wexford RHA 188th Annual Exhibition, RHA, Dublin Loewe Craft Prize Exhibition, London Design Museum, London, UK

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Alison Kay

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

ceramics / ceirmeacht

Inspired by aerodynamic shapes, plants and architecture, Alison Kay’s ceramic pieces are vessel-like with their interiors partly visible through an opening. ‘Many of my ideas come through handling the clay and working on the form until it has a balance and resolution.’ The pieces’ sharp outlines and well-defined curves give them tautness and volume. Coil-built using white Raku clay, they are gradually pared back and worked to achieve symmetry. A rich sheen is achieved by applying and then burnishing layers of coloured Terra Sigillata. Resist patterns are laid onto the surface after a high biscuit firing, and they are then smoke fired. The colour beneath is revealed when the pieces are cleaned and polished. ‘Through these processes, my aim is to impart a contemporary feel to the work, while giving an aged and weathered appearance to the surface.’

Alison studied at Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design (IADT) from 1971–1974. She worked in the Fergus O’Farrell craft studios from 1975–1977. Her studio is in Shankill, Co. Dublin.

maker profile

Alison Kay www.alisonkay.ie alisonkayceramics@msn.com Collections and Commissions • National Museum of Ireland • Office of Public Works, Ireland • Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland • Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s collection Recent Awards 2016 Winner of the

Royal Ulster Academy

Perpetual Silver Medal

for Sculpture 2012 Winner of the

Ceramic Ireland,

Peter Brennan Award 2008 Winner of the Halward

Ceramic Sculpture Award Recent/Current Exhibitions SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2009 The Mill Cove Gallery,

Castletownbere, Co. Cork

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GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND FAIRS 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2020 Land/Marks, Ceramics

Ireland selected

Triennial exhibition,

Farmleigh Gallery, Dublin

Unfolding, Curated by

Angela O’Kelly.

The Lexicon Gallery,

Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin 2019 Hinterland Collaborative

Exhibition, Eblana House,

Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin

RHA 189th Annual

Exhibition, RHA, Dublin

Royal Ulster Academy

138th Annual Exhibition,

Ulster Museum, Belfast

Somewhere In Between,

4 person show at SO Fine

Art Editions, Dublin 2018 RHA 188th Annual

Exhibition, RHA, Dublin 2017 VASE: Function

Reviewed, Farmleigh,

Phoenix Park, Dublin

RHA 187th Annual

Exhibition, RHA, Dublin

2016

2015

Touchstone, Farmleigh, Phoenix Park, Dublin Crossroads, J. Cacciola Gallery, Bernardsville, New Jersey, USA Royal Ulster Academy 136th Annual Exhibition, Ulster Museum, Belfast The Royal Hibernian Academy 186th Annual Exhibition, Dublin VASE: Function Reviewed, National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny Royal Ulster Academy 135th Annual Exhibition, Ulster Museum, Belfast Vue at the RHA, Represented by SO Fine Art Editions, Dublin Portfolio @ Solomon, Solomon Gallery, Dublin Centred, Wandesford Quay, Cork RHA 185th Annual Exhibition, RHA, Dublin Create 2015, Brown Thomas, Dublin

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

John Lee

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

furniture / troscán

Inspired by naturally occurring geometric forms and the effects of weathering and erosion, John Lee’s work explores the enhancement of timber’s natural properties. He works mainly to commission, creating bespoke furniture pieces. Sliabh NY is a bespoke hand-carved and shaped credenza in solid walnut featuring push-to-open doors and drawers.

‘My work often features contrasting smooth and textured surfaces.

I’ve been using an innovative reconstruction process to bend the grain to follow the form of the piece. Careful attention is paid to the scale, proportion and refinement of each piece where I aspire for design and craftsmanship to work together in a seamless way.’

John graduated from the Bachelor of Furniture Design and Manufacture Course, GMIT Letterfrack, Co. Galway in 1993. After working for other furniture makers in Ireland and the UK, he set up his own practice in 2004. He received a Bursary Award from the Design & Crafts Council Ireland in 2011 which enabled him to pursue a course in AutoCAD and 3D Design. He is based in Co. Meath.

maker profile

John Lee www.johnleefurniture.com john@johnleefurniture.com Collections and Commissions • Irish Presidential Inauguration Chair for Irish President Michael D. Higgins • HSH Prince Pierre d’Arenberg for a private collection in Switzerland, 2010 • National Museum, Collins Barracks, Dublin • Aras an Uachtarain, Commission for Irish President Mary McAleese • Office of Public Works – Department of Justice, Ireland • Office of Public Works – The Irish Government Buildings, Leinster House, Dublin Recent Awards 2017 Golden Fleece Award Winner 2015 RDS National Crafts

Competition, for Furniture 2015 Irish Design Award for

Excellence and

Innovation in Craft 2011 Winner of Crafts Council

of Ireland’s Bursary Award

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Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2019 Surface Matters, Artesania Catalyunya, Spain; Dublin Castle, Dublin; National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny 2018 Surveyor, Solstice Arts Centre, Navan, Co. Meath 2017 Narratives in Making, Ruthin Craft Centre, Wales; National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny 2015 Portfolio @ Solomon Gallery, Dublin RDS National Crafts Competition, Dublin 2013 Future Beauty, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny Cheongju International Craft Biennale, Cheongju, South Korea Collect, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK

2012

2012

2011

2010 2010 2009

Erskine, Hall & Coe, London 25 Years of Excellence and Innovation at GMIT Letterfrack, The Farmleigh Gallery, Dublin Design Miami/Basel, Switzerland From Table to Wall, Flow Gallery, London, UK Portfolio, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny; The Farmleigh Gallery, Dublin Interior Design Show, RDS, Dublin Interior Design Show, RDS, Dublin COLLECT, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK Organic Geometry, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny Interior Design Show / Cream of Irish Design, RDS Dublin 100% Design, Earls Court, London, UK

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Antonio Julio Lopez Castro

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

ceramics / ceirmeacht

Water droppers originated in Korea, China and Japan and were found in scholars’ studios or ‘Sarangbang’. Used to pour a small amount of water onto an inking stone, they were made of stoneware or porcelain, sometimes simple but often beautifully decorated or made in the shapes of animals. For Antonio Julio Lopez Castro they represent ‘the pursuit of spiritual freedom and enjoyment, embodying the dreams, thoughts, and ideas of the scholars. They served a dual purpose not only as functional vessels but also as sculptural objects for aesthetic appreciation.’

Antonio’s stoneware water droppers are thrown on the wheel before being decorated and glazed. Each one is unique and most fit into the palm of a hand.

Antonio received a BA Fine Art from Sligo Institute of Technology in 2003. In 2020, he graduated from the Ceramics Skills & Design Course, Design & Crafts Council, Kilkenny. He lives in Ballyhea, Co. Cork.

maker profile

Antonio Julio Lopez Castro www.antoniojuliolopezcastro.com lopez_castro_ceramics@yahoo.com Collections and Commissions • National Museum of Ireland Recent Awards 2020 DCCI Future Makers

Award – Materials Support

Ceramics Ireland

Award for Creativity

in Craftsmanship

Special Gallery

Zozimus Award

118

Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork

InForm, National

Museum Of Ireland, Dublin

Hand To Hand, National

Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny 2020 Land/Mark, Ceramics

Ireland Selected

Triennial Farmleigh

Gallery, Dublin

Ceramics Ireland Open

Members Exhibition, Dublin 2018 Ceramics Ireland Open

Members Exhibition, Dublin 2017 Ceramics Ireland Open

Members Exhibition, Dublin

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Alan Meredith

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

wood / adhmad

Alan Meredith is a designer and maker who works predominantly in wood, creating architectural installations, furniture pieces and turned wood sculptures.

His work is primarily interested in finding the appropriate form for a specified object or structure while attempting to reveal the inherent properties of wood. He employs techniques such as steam bending, freeform carving, turning and traditional cabinetmaking in his practice.

‘These sculptural wood-turned vessels are made from locally sourced Irish oak, Ireland’s national tree and a material with exceptional qualities, longevity, strength and character.’

The solid oak pieces are turned on a lathe to a thickness of 3mm, transforming the oak into flexible material which, when steamed, can be manipulated into unexpected forms. Once the oak dries, its rigidity returns, holding its new shape.

‘The works are a dialogue between hand and material, a dialogue which aims to create a distilled complexity; visually calm and skilfully executed. Through the sympathetic manipulation of materials, one hopes to explore new possibilities and original forms.’ Alan uses naturally derived finishes which take advantage of oak’s natural properties.

Alan graduated with a Master’s in Architecture from University College Dublin in 2015. He works from his studio in Co. Laois.

maker profile

Alan Meredith www.alanmeredith.ie studio@alanmeredith.ie Collections and Commissions • University College Dublin • The Daniel Collection, UK • Cill Rialaig Arts Centre, Kerry • Newpark Comprehensive School, Dublin • Kilkenny College, Kilkenny • Holy Family School, Portlaoise • Irish Embassy, Helsinki; DFAT Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) – The International • Contemporary Collection of Irish Design & Craft • Galway City Museum

119

Recent Awards 2020 Wood Awards Ireland –

Furniture Category, Winner 2019 National Enterprise

Awards – Laois Exporter

of the year 2018 RDS National Crafts

Competition, RDS – Craft

Awards Bursary

RIAI, Public Space Award

for DLR Red Jetty

National Enterprise

Awards – Winner

of the Best Start Up

Business in Laois

AAI, Special Mention

for DLR Red Jetty 2017 RDS National Crafts Competition;

Winner, Emerging Maker

(Woodturning) and Irish

Woodturners Guild Award

Tresor Discovery Award

at Tresor Contemporary

Craft, Basel, Switzerland

DCCI, Future Maker

of the Year 2016 Ireland’s Best Young

Entrepreneur (Co. Laois):

Best StartUp Business and

Best Young Entrepreneur 2013 Irish American Cultural

Institute, Muriel Gahan Scholarship Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork

After the Fall,

Blue Egg Gallery, Wexford 2020 After the Fall,

South Tipperary Arts

Centre, Clonmel

Maison et Objet,

Paris, France

Monument, Galway City

Museum, Galway

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Cecilia Moore

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

metals / miotail

Cecilia Moore’s playful and gestural works are created through patination and raising, techniques which she has spent years developing and perfecting. Raising allows her to hammer flat metal discs to create her hollow sculptural forms. A noisy and laborious process, she states that the work could ‘perhaps be produced by mechanical means, but this slow, physically demanding technique is central to my work. The process is gradual. Creating my work is both a struggle and a joy.’

Cecilia uses copper, bronze and, occasionally, silver. She likes to incorporate interesting found elements in her work. Shapes, forms and anthropomorphic qualities naturally emerge. ‘Making is an intuitive process for me, combinations of elements and colours can change at every stage, all to catch a quirky playfulness, a surprise in the mixing and assemblage of found parts with the raised forms.’

Cecilia received a Diploma in Silversmithing from Birmingham Polytechnic in 1980. She studied at the La Maison de Dinanderie in Paris for a year and later received and MFA Design (Metal) from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin. She lives and works in Dublin.

maker profile

Cecilia Moore www.ceciliamoore.ie ceciliamoore.ie@gmail.com

• • • • •

2020

Collections and Commissions National Museum of Ireland State Collection, Office of Public Works Irish Management Institute National Irish Visual Arts Library (NIVAL) Axa Art Collection Recent Awards 2018 Winner of Golden

Fleece Award 2016 RDS National Crafts

Competition – Award

for Established

Maker in Silversmithing/ Metalwork 2016 Thomas Dammann Junior

Memorial Trust Award Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork

Crafting a Difference with

Cavaliero Finn Gallery

at SoShiro, London, UK

Collect (online) with

Cavaliero Finn Gallery, UK

120

2019–2020

2019

Double Estate, Pearse Museum, Dublin Royal Ulster Academy Annual Exhibition, Ulster Museum, Belfast European Silversmiths Forum, Zilver Museum Schoonhoven, Netherlands Handmade: Europäisches Kunsthandwerk und Design, Handwerksform Hannover, Germany Sculpture in Context, National Botanic Gardens, Dublin Meister der Moderne, Munich, Germany (postponed) Surface Matters: Dublin Castle, Dublin; Artesania Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain and National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny Royal Ulster Academy Annual Exhibition, Ulster Museum, Belfast RHA 189th Annual Exhibition, RHA, Dublin

2018

Sculpture in Context, National Botanic Gardens, Dublin Volle Kanne, Handwerksform, Hannover, Germany Renewal, European Silversmiths Forum, Dock Street Studios, Dundee, Scotland and The Goldsmiths’ Centre, London, UK Quirky, vibrant and not so familiar stories, Valcke Art Gallery, Ghent, Belgium Cycling through the Rages, Olivier Cornet Gallery, Dublin Slip.Flux.Flock: Intuitive Forms, Olivier Cornet Gallery, Dublin Mason Hayes & Curran Annual Art Exhibition, Dublin Winter Open, Rua Red, Dublin Royal Ulster Academy Annual Exhibition, Ulster Museum, Belfast

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Sadhbh Mowlds

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

mixed media / meáin mheasctha

A mixed media artist, Sadhbh Mowlds’s work is ‘concerned with multiple facets of anthropology and philosophy and explores the varying levels of our beliefs, behaviours, and perceptions’. Sadhbh uses silicone casting techniques alongside glassmaking processes ‘to produce questionably lifelike sculptures, often with a subtle, humorous edge, that initiate difficult but critical conversations’.

Her work describes ‘the impact societal perceptions, gender roles, belief systems and awareness of self have on our suffering consciousness, in an attempt to resist prevalent and destructive social norms. These observations are purely personal interpretations. By tackling gender, race, and even taxonomical stereotypes and cliches, I respond to my own perceptions of our preconditioned environment. My work will often include layers of these intimate interpretations, intertwined together, creating absurd but stark realities.’

Sadhbh received a BDes Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin in 2014. She subsequently moved to Germany and became part of the Berlin Glas team, working closely with artists and designers on one-of-a-kind commissions, while also instructing outreach programmes and workshops. She is currently based in the USA where she is undertaking an MFA in Glass at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.

maker profile

Sadhbh Mowlds www.sadhbhmowlds.com sadhbhmowlds@hotmail.com Recent Awards 2020 Shortlisted for the Annual Manifest Art Prize 2020 Honourable mention in Creatures II exhibition, Art St. Louis, MO, USA 2019 Windgate Charitable Foundation Graduate Research Grant, Southern Illinois University National College of Art and Design, 3 week residency, Dublin, Ireland 2016 Berlin Glas e.V, 1 week residency, Berlin, Germany Erasmus + grant, Berlin, Germany RDS National Crafts Competition, Glass Society of Ireland Prize, Ireland

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Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork

Methods in Glass, Applied Contemporary, Oakland, CA, USA 2020 Creatures II, Art St. Louis, MO, USA 2020 Sculpture in Context, Ireland *moved online GAS Student Exhibition, Sweden *moved online 2017 Collaborative Endeavour, Australian Embassy, Berlin, Germany 2015–2016 SOLAS, NCAD, Dublin; Hunt Gallery, Limerick; Greyfriar’s Gallery, Waterford; Wandsford Quay Gallery, Cork 2014 Sculpture in Context, National Botanic Gardens, Dublin RDS National Crafts Competition, RDS, Dublin; Hunt Gallery, Limerick

2013

SEE THE FUTURE, NCAD Degree Show, National College of Art and Design, Dublin Sculpture in Context, The Four Seasons, Dublin Sculpture in Context, National Botanic Gardens, Dublin Mud & Sand, Gallery Zozimus, Dublin

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Cara Murphy

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

metals / miotail

Using traditional silversmithing techniques, Cara Murphy’s work is influenced by the natural environment. She enjoys combining silver with other materials, in particular stone and wood.

More recently the colours of the Irish landscape have become dominant in her silverware. Adding this colour with transparent vitreous enamel enables her to create organic patterns on the surface of the silver that are highlighted by the refraction of light.

Cara trained at Glasgow School of Art and the Royal College of Art, London. She is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths and an elected committee member of Contemporary British Silversmiths. Working mainly to commission, she lives and works in Hillsborough, Co. Down.

maker profile

Cara Murphy www.caramurphy.com cara@caramurphy.com Collections and Commissions • Randox Health Grand National Trophy • St Leger Trophy Centrepiece • Permanent Collection Arts Council of Northern Ireland • Business to Arts 25th Anniversary Awards • St Columb’s Cathedral, Derry • Nevin Spence Memorial Trophy, Irish Rugby Union Players Association • Drummaul Parish Church, Randalstown • St. Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast • The Silver Trust Collection for 10 Downing Street • Ulster Museum • National Museum of Ireland • Rangers Football Club, Glasgow • Queens University Collection, Belfast • Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland • Design Awards presented by the Institute of Designers in Ireland • New Product Awards for Showcase Ireland, presented by the President of Ireland • National Poetry Awards presented by the President of Ireland at Dublin Castle

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Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2020 Unlocked,

Craft NI Gallery, Belfast Open Up, Dutch Silver Museum, Schoonhoven, Netherlands Generation, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny 2019 Royal Ulster Academy

Annual Exhibition,

Ulster Museum, Belfast Surface Matters, Portfolio Critical Selection, Dublin Castle; NDCG Kilkenny Renewal, Goldsmiths’ Centre, London; Elements, Edinburgh, UK Collect, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK Craft and Design Awards, Goldsmiths’ Hall, London, UK 2018 The Miniaturists,

The Scottish Gallery,

Edinburgh, UK

2017

Best of Europe, Homo Faber, Venice, Italy Masterpiece London, Adrian Sassoon, the Royal Hospital Chelsea, UK Sense of Place, 100 enamel bowls, Ulster Museum, Belfast Colour Theory, Contemporary Applied Arts, London, UK Masterpiece London, Adrian Sassoon, the Royal Hospital Chelsea, UK Jubilee, Gallery for Jewellery, Pforzheim, Germany New Makers, Contemporary Applied Arts, London, UK Narratives in Making, Ruthin Centre, Wales; National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny Global Irish Design Challenge, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Mary Nagle

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

mixed media / meáin mheasctha

Mary Nagle’s mixed media compositions combine a wide range of materials, fragments and objects. She utilises a wide range of craft processes including hand building, painting, gilding and sewing.

‘My work is about the human condition, memory and the infinite possibilities of the ordinary and everyday. I am drawn to the seemingly inconsequential and the disregarded; materials and objects – both natural and man-made – that have been thrown away, given away, fallen away or worn away. These often display a richness of visual qualities, sometimes marked by use and time, carrying the patina of their history. Imagining prior use and personal histories, these objects and materials are treasured as repositories of memory. Valued for the stories they tell, these are stored and considered over time.’

Individual elements are then juxtaposed, worked and reworked, and new elements, made from a broad palette of materials and processes, are sometimes added to form abstract two-dimensional and three-dimensional forms. Her ambition for these works is that they act as a reminder of the emotional resonance of the everyday and the ordinary.

Mary ran her own design practice for over twenty years, before establishing herself as a full time maker in 2014. She lives in Limerick city.

maker profile

Mary Nagle www.marynagle.ie marynagledesign@gmail.com

2019

Recent Awards • Individual Arts Bursary Award, Limerick City and County Council Recent/Current Exhibitions SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2020 Memorare, LSAD Gallery,

School of Art and Design, Limerick GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND FAIRS 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2020 Limerick Connections, Limerick City Gallery of Art (LCGA), Limerick Generation, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny Generation, Millennium Art Centre, Portadown, Co. Armagh

123

2018 2017 2016

2015

Blurring The Edge, Flowerfield Arts Centre, Portstewart, Co. Derry Summer Show, SO Fine Art Editions, Powerscourt Town House, Dublin Sculpture in Context, National Botanic Gardens, Dublin Blurring The Edge, Hunt Museum, Limerick RDS National Crafts Competition, RDS, Dublin LSAD Open, LSAD Gallery, Limerick Mass Communication, LSAD Gallery, Limerick Limerick Printmakers Winter Exhibition, Hunt Museum, Limerick

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Nuala O’Donovan

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

ceramics / ceirmeacht

Combining abstracted pattern and geometry from natural forms, Nuala O’Donovan’s sculptural work explores ‘the possibility of the communication of a sense of energy and life’. Her work is informed by her interest in the history of the use of geometry in the aesthetics of classical Western art, and Eastern aesthetics’ acceptance of the beauty of the imperfect and transitory.

‘The common area recognised by both of these traditions is the perception of beauty and harmonious form created by use of repeated proportion.’ Every piece is made in unglazed porcelain clay with every element of the pattern made individually and constructed over weeks or months. ‘Each work is unique and forms part of a progression. Where possible, I show my work in groups on a plinth which is specific to the work and based on geometric principles related to those used in the studio pieces.’ The plinth is treated as an element of the final piece and has allowed Nuala to experiment further with scale and modularity.

Nuala holds a BA in Three Dimensional Design from Middlesex University, UK and an MFA in Ceramics from Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork. She lives and works in Cork.

maker profile

Nuala O’Donovan www.nualaodonovanartist.com nualaodonovan@hotmail.com

•

• •

Collections and Commissions National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Dublin Ulster Museum, Belfast Cork Institute of Technology, Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork Recent Awards 2020 Centre Culturel Irlandais

and DCCI Residency,

Paris, France 2019 Golden Fleece Award

Joint Winner with

Marcel Vidal.

Culture Ireland Award,

travel and dissemination 2017 Golden Fleece Award,

Merit Prize 2011 Golden Fleece Award,

Merit Prize 2010 Business to Arts Awards:

Commissioned Artist.

2010 Golden Fleece Award, Shortlisted,

(One of eight artists)

124

2009 + 2010 Culture Ireland /

Arts Council: Travel/

Exhibition Award 2009 + 2010 RDS National Crafts

Competition, First Prize

Contemporary Ceramics 2009 Ceramics Ireland RDS and

CCOI Purchase Award 2008/2009 Irish Arts Review

Emerging Maker Award 2006–2008 C.I.T. Post-graduate

Research Scholarship Award Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork

Broken Beauty, Sarah Myerscough Gallery, London, UK 2020 Ceramique Botanique 2, Keramiekcentrum Tiendschuur Museum, Tegelen, Netherlands Realising Form, Make @ Hauser and Wirth Somerset Gallery, Bruton, Somerset, UK

2019–2020

2019

2018–2019

Surface Matters, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny & Artesaniacat, Barcelona, Spain In the Age of The Conscious Maker, NCAD Gallery, Dublin Cynthia Corbett Gallery / Harpers Bazaar Young Masters Prize, Exhibition & London Art Fair, UK Surface Matters, Dublin Castle, Dublin and touring to Barcelona, Paris, Kilkenny Particle and Wave: International Paperclay, Curated by Peter Held and Lori Nelson, Arizona State University; Daum Museum Illinois; and touring to Museums and Universities in the USA Earth, Wind & Fire-Made in Cork Contemporary, Five contemporary artist/makers; Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, Emmet Place, Cork

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Nigel O’Reilly

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

jewellery / seodra

Drawing inspiration from his rural Irish background, goldsmith Nigel O’Reilly pushes the limits of traditional and modern techniques to craft fine jewellery pieces. ‘I try to consider, understand, and advance the potential of each gemstone I use. I believe when you are gifted something as rare as a precious stone, it is your duty as a goldsmith, to realise its beauty, to push its boundaries.’ Nigel marries the technical expertise of precision toolmaking with an eye for architectural form and bold colour.

His jewellery pieces are miniature sculptural forms, wearable pieces of art that are collectable and museum-worthy. His techniques include traditional sketching and goldsmithing skills such as casting and setting by hand. In keeping with his boundary-pushing forms, he takes advantage of modern tools such CAD design, 3D wax printing and microscopes to augment his creative practice. His work is sought after internationally and has featured in Elle, New York Times and Forbes.

Nigel completed apprenticeships with: Michael O’Dwyer, Stockholm; Rudolf Heltzel, Kilkenny and Erwinn Springbrunn, Co. Roscommom.

His studio is in Castlebar, Co. Mayo.

maker profile

Nigel O’Reilly www.nigeloreilly.com info@nigeloreilly.com Recent Awards 2017 Ireland’s Best Young

Entrepreneur, National Finalist 2017 RDS Crafts Awards,

Best Established Jeweller

125

Recent Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2020 Sotheby’s Important

Jewels Exhibition,

Sotheby’s, New York, USA,

curated by Frank Everett,

Senior Vice President

of Jewellery 2019 Canto, Exhibition at the

American Irish Historical

Society, an exhibition

of Irish design with

Don O’Neill and Joseph

Walsh Fifth Avenue,

New York, USA 2018 Velvet Collective, Irish

design at the RHA, Dublin 2017 RDS National Crafts

Competition Exhibition,

RDS, Dublin

Representation Ireland: Ashford Castle, Galway www.ashfordcastle.com USA: Beaugeste Luxury, The Chrysler Building, New York, USA www.beaugesteluxury.com

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Helen O’Shea

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

textiles / teicstílí

‘My work looks at the speculative prospect of what is beyond our vision in the depths of the oceans and uses the transformation of waste plastics to raise themes of environmental, material and ecological concern.

Researching the journey of waste plastics in the ocean brought home the complexity of what is happening in this environment: physical breakdown; absorption of toxins; ingestion; leaching chemicals; bacterial and microbial growth and transportation of invasive species. The resulting intimate creations foreground the mark of the hand using textile sensibilities, while exploring the potential to reuse waste plastics in a contemporary art setting.’ Driven to disrupt perceptions of waste and expose this material’s potential through subversive aesthetics, her work questions possibilities on end-of-life issues.

Helen originally trained as a chef and worked for the City of Cork Vocational Education Committee as an Arts and Crafts and Catering tutor for nearly twenty years. She later returned to education, receiving a BA Honours in Contemporary Applied Art in 2017 and an MA by Research in 2021, both from MTU Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork. She lives and work in Cork.

maker profile

Helen O’Shea www.helenoshea.ie helenosheais@gmail.com Recent Awards 2020 Shortlisted RDS National

Crafts Competition 2019 Design and Crafts

Council Future Makers

Award, Emerging Maker 2018 Faculty of Business and

Humanities Postgraduate

Scholarship 2018 –

CIT Crawford College Art

and Design 2017 Shortlisted for

RDS National Crafts Competition

Lavit Gallery Fledglings Award

Morgan P. Doyle Award

Cork Craft Design Award

Longlisted Visual Arts

Award RDS 2015 Arts Council Travel and

Training Grant 2014 Long Note Award CTN

126

2013

Highly Commended, Textile Design Braintree District Museum UK,

by Mary Schooser

Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork

Crafting A Difference,

SoShiro Gallery London

Curated by Brian Kennedy

Collect Edit 2021,

with Ting-Ying Gallery London 2020 Balancing Relations,

James Barry Centre

MTU Cork

Land of Some Other

Order, Lavit Gallery,

Curated by Paul McAree

Material Decisions,

Lord Mayors Pavilion,

Cork – Cancelled due to Covid-19

Our Future Present,

Studio 12 Backwater Art

Shorts – Postponed 2021

2019 THREAD: Contemporary

Textiles, Rheged Center,

Penrith, Cumbria, UK 2018 DIALOGUES

THROUGH TIME,

placing contemporary

craft in the context of

the 18th Century

Wildt’sches Haus in Basel.

Curated by TRESOR’s

Artistic Director Brian Kennedy

Identity Westival 2018

Westport, Co. Mayo

20, Triskel Church, Cork

Tales, Alliance Frances Cork

Myth, Gallery Noorus,

Tartu, Estonia 2017 The Masters – One off,

Bankside Gallery,

London, UK

Discovery, Tresor

Contemporary Craft Fair,

Basel, Switzerland

SKIN NAHK ODA,

Travelling exhibition

Tartu Estonia, Cork, and

Vilinus, Lithuania

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Annemarie O’Sullivan

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

basketry / caoladóireacht

Annemarie O’Sullivan makes baskets and woven objects in response to the materials she gathers from the land. ‘My work draws on the sturdiness of agricultural baskets, the curve of the landscape and a deep respect for ancient crafts.’ Annemarie grows about twenty different types of willow which she often combines with coppiced wood using weaving and binding techniques that have been used over thousands of years. ‘I am inspired by the simple connections that I have made with basketmakers from the past.

Collaboration is a key part of my work. I love to share ideas with makers from other disciplines. I like to work in a playful way, but the end product always has a high level of craft.’ Part of the attraction of basketmaking for Annemarie is its simplicity and history: ‘I’m very grateful to all the makers who came before me, who discovered amazing ways to make and construct.

I love the simplicity of basketmaking. All I need is a knife and some rods of willow and I can make a basket.’ A connection with nature leads her to create ‘site specific, beautifully crafted works, which are steeped in history and landscape’. Annemarie is based in East Sussex, UK.

maker profile

Annemarie O’Sullivan www.annemarieosullivan.co.uk info@annemarieosullivan.co.uk Collections and Commissions • Commissions have been undertaken for interior designers in the UK and worldwide.

Recent Awards 2016 QEST Scholarship 2015 Arts Council of England

– Grants for the Arts 2013 Arrivals and Departures:

Travel Bursary,

Arts Council 2012 Barbara Maynard Award,

City Lit Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2020 Collect, Somerset House,

London, UK

Untitled, Side Gallery,

Barcelona, Spain

127

2019 Function & Ornament,

Ruthin Craft Centre, Wales

The Art of Gathering,

The New Craftsman,

St Ives, UK

Basketry Now, Western

Kentucky University, USA

Natural Beauty,

Galerie Handwerk,

Munich, Germany 2018 Levelling Traditions,

Make Hauser and Wirth,

Somerset, UK 2017 Making Ground

Residency, Fabrica,

Brighton, UK

Tight Lines Happy

Hunting, Galerie

Handwerk, Munich, Germany 2013 Inspirational Objects,

Pump House,

Battersea, UK 2012 Cluster, Fabrica,

Brighton, UK 2010 Inspired By, V&A

Museum, London, UK

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Annemarie Reinhold

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

metals / miotail

Drawing inspiration from the botanical world, Annemarie Reinhold creates unique, sculptural and wearable objects. Her work considers themes of consumption and sustainability by capturing or slowing down in the process of making.

‘Sometimes I wish it would be possible to preserve special moments, to capture their beauty. This is what I aspire to achieve by making structural forms in metal: to reflect moments in something that will last.’

Her recent work looks at creating forms from studies of fruit and vegetables. Her process involves the use of traditional silversmithing techniques such as raising and forming. She has also started to incorporate wood into her work. ‘The combination of two contrasting materials provides an intriguing exploration of these different natural materials. Silver may be perceived as hard, cold, heavy, and durable. In contrast, wood has a more organic feel to it with light, soft, and warm qualities.’

Annemarie received a Bachelor of Metal & Jewellery Design from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin in 2016. In 2019, she completed the Jewellery and Goldsmithing Skills & Design Course at the Design & Crafts Council Ireland, Kilkenny. She is based in Co. Cork.

maker profile

Annemarie Reinhold www.annemariereinhold.com annireinholddesign@gmail.com Recent Awards 2020 Selected for the Covid-19

commission by the

National Museum of

Ireland and DCCI Golden Fleece Award 2019 Future Maker Award 2017 RDS National Crafts

Competition, Emerging

Maker, Silversmithing

and Metalwork Young Designers Competition, Jacobs the Jeweller, Silver category 2016 Graduate Membership

Award, Contemporary

British Silversmiths Future Maker Award 2015 Nominated for the

NCAD Staff Prize fund 2014 Winner of the Newbridge

Silverware Jewellery Competition

128

Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork

Lúnasa,

Lavit Gallery, Cork InForm, National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Dublin 2020 Homo Faber Guide,

One of the artisans

featured in the Guide,

online platform 2019 Surface Matters,

Portfolio Critical Selection

touring exhibition Dublin,

Barcelona, Kilkenny Aurea, DCCI Jewellery and Goldsmithing Graduate Exhibition, Kilkenny Collect, as part of Bishopsland Educational Trust, London, UK 2018 European Prize for

Applied Arts

Monumentality/

Fragility, Belgium; Kilkenny

2017

RDS National Crafts Competition, RDS, Dublin Bishopsland Retrospective, London, UK Craft in Focus, RHS Wisley, UK Inspired Festival of Silver & Furniture, London, UK Jubilee, Hammer Club, Pforzheim, Germany 2016 Shine, The Goldsmiths’

Centre, London, UK Christmas at Bishopsland, Bishopsland Educational Trust, London, UK Discover Hidden Gems, NCAD Graduate Showcase, Dublin 2015 Under a Rock,

3rd Year Metal Students,

NCAD, Dublin 2013 NCAD Core Exhibition,

Mixed Media Student

Exhibition, NCAD, Dublin 2012 Grennan Mill Craft

School Graduate Show, Thomastown,

Co. Kilkenny

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Michael Rice

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

ceramics / ceirmeacht

Michael Rice’s sculptural works are created using a variety of materials which include stoneware clay, black porcelain and paper clay. ‘Working in clay I am looking for things that are already in my mind, things that I need to remove the dust from, outcomes that I recognise, outcomes that I remember.’

Michael creates objects using both traditional and contemporary techniques: throwing clay, creating 3D printed plaster moulds, cutting and bevelling on the wheel.

Extrusion 2 was designed in Rhino 3D and then 3D printed. Plaster moulds were created and black porcelain cast from these moulds. It is composed of multiple parts with various crawl glazes to create the final work.

‘Some things are so potent that when you see them for the first time it feels like something you already know, you already agree with them.

They are so familiar that they fit right into the space in your mind that they always had and you realise that you’re not discovering a new idea but rediscovering a part of your memory.’

Michael holds a BA Hons Fine Craft Design (Ceramics) and an MA Multidisciplinary Design from the University of Ulster. He is currently based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

maker profile

Michael Rice www.mceramics.com mrice@aud.edu Collections and Commissions • Yingge Museum Taipei Recent Awards 2021 International KOGEI

Award, Finalist 2020 Finalist Taiwan

International Ceramic Biennale 2019 Diploma of Honor by the

Taiwan Ceramic

International Biennale 2017 Nominated ‘Most

Innovative Brand’

Harpers Bazzar Interiors 2016 Finalist in The Van Cleef

and Arples Middle East

Emergent Designer Award

Finalist Taiwan

International Ceramic Biennale 2015 Recipient of the Provosts

Award for Innovation

in Teaching, AUD Dubai

129

Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork

Toyama Award, Art and Design museum Toyama, Japan Singapore Art Week, Ceramic Expressions 4, Singapore Second Life, Total Arts, Dubai Covid Conversations, Tashkeel, Dubai 2020 London Art Fair, Boundary Gallery, London, UK Taiwan International Ceramic Biennale, Taipei, Taiwan UAE Designer Exhibition, Dubai Design Week, UAE 2019 Geo, Solo show in 1971 Design Space in Sharjah, UAE Korean International Ceramic Biennale, South Korea

2018

2017

2016–2017 2016

2015

Collections, 1971 Design Space in Sharjah, UAE Dust, Solo Show, Thrown Gallery, Highgate, London, UK St’ART 18, Sculpture Network, University of Sharjah, UAE Design Days, Dubai Exhibitor, UAE Abu Dhabi Festival, Umm al Emarat Park, UAE Abwab, Dubai Design Week, UAE, DRAK, Dubai Design Week @ Molecule in D3, UAE AUD, Smoke and Dirt, Dubai Design Week, UAE Taiwan Ceramic Biennale, Taipei, Taiwan Design Days Dubai, Wasl Group Show, UAE Silica – Alserkal Ave Dubai, UAE Bait Muzna Gallery, Muscat, Oman

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Emer Roberts

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

jewellery / seodra

Before launching her fine art jewellery brand in 2017, Emer Roberts had a sculptural practice. ‘My work has mapped a synchronistic journey which began in the Year of the Rat, 2008, with the passing of my brother, Gary.

The large-scale sculpture Rat and Child, created for my NCAD MFA show, was a culmination of navigating grief and a homage to my mother’s loss of her son. Heavily influenced by the mould-making process, I continued to navigate my subject matter over the years while studying silversmithing.’

Her three Wearable Biology jewellery collections have been attempts to create beauty from the abhorred rat species. The Tail Collection accentuated the texture of the rat’s tail in luxury metals, and her Jaw Collection, ‘cast from the lower jaw of the rat was inspired by the elegant and organic patterns of Art Nouveau’. Emer’s latest Snout Collection reimagines ‘medieval chainmail as couture jewellery through the snout of this mammal species’.

Emer received a BA Fine Art Sculpture from DIT School of Art and Design in 2008 and an MFA Sculpture from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin in 2009. She lives and works in Dublin.

maker profile

Emer Roberts www.emerroberts.com emerroberts@gmail.com Collections and Commissions • Dublin Institute of Technology, Mountjoy Square, Dublin • Private Collections Recent Awards 2019 Jewellery Designer of the

Year with Irish Fashion

Innovation Awards 2019 Accessories Designer of

the Year ‘Wearable

Biology – Tail Collection’

with The Institute of Designers Ireland (IDI) Commended for Architectural Links’ collection with The Institute of Designers Ireland (IDI) Showcase Best Product Award Overall in the Jewellery Category 2017 Showcase Best Product

Award Overall in the

Jewellery Category

130

Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2020 Paris Fashion Week,

Paris, France Wearable Biology – Snout Collection 2020 (Year of the Rat) Launch, The Irish Georgian Society, Dublin 2019 Create, Brown Thomas, Dublin Showcase, Ireland’s Creative Expo, Best Product Award RDS, Dublin 2018 IJL international

Jewellery London,

Trade Show, London, UK Create, Brown Thomas, Dublin Showcase, Ireland’s Creative Expo, RDS, Dublin 2017 ‘New Designer’ invitation

to International

Jewellery London IJL, UK

2015

2013

Joint Official Launch The Collection, Kevin Kavanagh Gallery Dublin Showcase, Ireland’s Creative Expo, Best Product Award, RDS, Dublin DEAD END (II), Clonlea Studios Vile Jellies, KiSSiT: Shakespeare and Waste – Plenary and Roundtable with MOUTH LAND: A Scarcity Banquet, The Prosperity Project with Jesse Jones, MOUTH and the Korean Society of Ireland, Smock Alley Theatre, Dublin Eternal Winter of Festivity (a foretaste of ‘LAND: A Scarcity Banquet’) The Other North Symposium with Jesse Jones, CCA Derry-Londonderry, MOUTH with Michael O’Rourke

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Peter Sheehan & Cathal Loughnane

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

furniture / troscán

Peter Sheehan and Cathal Loughnane are interested in ‘work that has a past but that feels absolutely present’. They explore the origins of design and material culture, mixing digital, machine and handmade methods.

In 2012 after twenty-five years of design consultancy experience, Peter set up his studio practice to explore a wide-angle view of design, making, craft and exploration across disciplines. In collaboration with Cathal Loughnane, and with the support of Joseph Walsh Studio, they developed the History Chair in 2011 and 2012.

The History Desk and Chair was subsequently developed in 2019.

This piece incorporates two slim drawers and a leather writing pad. The seat pad on the chair is held in place by hidden magnets. Each chair and desk is made to order by furniture maker Ryan Connolly. The leather work is by master saddler Thomas Berney. Both Connolly and Berney are practitioners carrying on a family tradition of high-quality craft and making.

Alongside his design practice based in Co. Wicklow, Peter teaches design at Maynooth University and the National College of Art & Design.

Cathal Loughnane is Creative Director of Design Partners, an international consultancy also based in Co. Wicklow.

maker profile

Peter Sheehan www.peter-sheehan.exposure.co/ history-chair peter@petersheehanstudio.com Collections and Commissions • Henrik Lindberg, Lindberg Offices in Aarhus, Denmark and Zurich, Switzerland Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2015 Liminal – Irish Design at the Threshold, as part of Irish Design 2015 2014 National Design & Craft

Gallery, Kilkenny 2013 Vernacular, at the

London Design Festival 2012 Wallpaper* Handmade,

Milan, Italy

131

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Matt Smith

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

ceramics / ceirmeacht

textiles / teicstílí

Working in both textiles and ceramics, Matt Smith seeks ‘to create objects which never were, and which talk of histories that were usually overlooked, silenced or ignored’. His site-specific projects explore how museums are curated, questioning ‘how history is a constantly selected and refined narrative that presents itself as a fixed and accurate account of the past’.

Matt’s work has explored LGBTQ, feminist and class representation – and lack of representation – in museums, historic buildings and galleries.

His textile work takes existing needlepoint and meticulously unpicks and restitches geometric patterns which undermine the central focus of the work, ‘the marginal becomes an equal player and the eye has nowhere to focus and rest. The viewer becomes engaged in a continual struggle to find a clear narrative’.

With his ceramics, Matt both repurposes objects in new situations and creates new objects. In so doing he ‘creates a dialogue between contemporary aesthetics and historical events.’

Matt received a BA Hons Ceramics from Westminster University in 2006. In 2015, he completed a PhD entitled ‘Things Perfectly Queer: Art’s use of Craft to signify LGBT identities’. Originally from the UK, he is now based in Co. Kilkenny.

maker profile

Matt Smith www.mattjsmith.com matt@mattjsmith.com

• • • • • •

Collections and Commissions V&A Museum Walker Art Gallery Crafts Council Collection, UK Fitzwilliam Museum Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Brighton and Hove Museum and Art Gallery

Recent Awards 2020 Acquisition grant from

Contemporary Art

Society to place works

with Brighton Museum 2020 Acquisition grant from

Brookfield Properties to

place work with Crafts

Council Collection 2019 Arts Council Award for

Losing Venus 2019 Research Time at Work

from Konstfack University

for Losing Venus 2018 Object of the Show

Award at Collect, London

132

2017

2017

2016

Arts Council grant to develop Flux: Parian Unpacked Commission to create new work for Hanbury Hall Arts Council Grant to develop new work

Recent/Current Exhibitions SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2020 Losing Venus, at Pitt

Rivers Museum,

University of Oxford, UK 2020 Matt Smith: 2020 curated

by Crafts Council UK 2018 Flux: Parian

Unpacked, Fitzwilliam

Museum, University of

Cambridge, UK 2016 Artist in Residence,

V&A Museum,

London, UK 2012 Other Stories,

Leeds University Art

Collection, UK 2010 Queering the Museum,

Birmingham Museum

and Art Gallery, UK 2010 Milk, ASPEX,

Portsmouth, UK

GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND FAIRS 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork

Monochromes,

Ruthin Art Gallery

Piranesi, Dublin Castle 2020 Collect, represented

by Cynthia Corbett

The Grand Tour,

James Freeman Gallery 2019 Collect, represented

by Cynthia Corbett

Cultural Icons,

Potteries Museum and

Art Gallery

FABRIK,

Gustavsberg Konsthall 2018 Orlando at the Present

Time, Charleston House

Collect, represented

by Cynthia Corbett 2017 Coming Out, Walker Art

Gallery Liverpool

The World Is Chaos,

Hanbury Hall, National

Trust Commission

Collect, Artist Showcase

represented by

Cynthia Corbett Gallery

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Sasha Sykes

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

furniture / troscán

Sasha Sykes considers herself a storyteller as much as an artist, designer, and craftswoman. Her work explores life, death, and renewal, particularly regarding flora and the stage of the cycle around seeding. Using resin, she incorporates foraged plant life from both wild and cultivated landscapes, giving structure and permanence to otherwise ephemeral and delicate forms.

For large-scale projects, she carries out extensive research into the relevant heritage, history, environment and flora of the space beforehand.

Along with this, she develops complex and challenging design frameworks, often involving innovative engineering methods and materials to realise her creations.

‘The last year has provided so many new challenges to how we all think, work and live. I have a new sense of value on the making side of my practice. Experimenting with new materials – and recycling old ones – continues to teach and inspire me. I hope to share this knowledge and to continue developing through my work and resulting pieces.’

Sasha received an MA in Architecture from Edinburgh University in 1998. She established her studio practice in 2001. She currently lives and works in Co. Carlow.

maker profile

Sasha Sykes sashasykes.com sasha@sashasykes.com 2019–2020 Collections and Commissions • The National Museum of Ireland • The Office of Public Works • The Department of Foreign Affairs • The Department of Culture & Heritage • The Bank of America • Afiaa • Porsche Collection • The Weinzierl Collection • Carton House • The Cliff House • Farnham Estate Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2020 Create, Brown Thomas, Dublin Through the Artists Eye, Birr Castle & Demesne, Co. Offaly The Time of Our Lives, Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin

133

2019

2018

Surface Matters, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny Life in Still Life, Office of Public Works, touring Ireland Vue, Oliver Sears Gallery RHA, Dublin Rear Window, Mason’s Yard London In Living Memory, Emo Court, Co. Laois Taking Time, DLR Lexicon, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin Press Play, Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin Surface Matters, DCCI Critical Selection, Dublin Castle, Dublin Solo show 1:8 @ VoltzClarke Gallery, NYC, USA PAD, Peter Petrou Gallery, London, UK Homo Faber, Best of Europe, Venice, Italy Ealaín, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

2017

2016

2015

Salon, Oliver Sears Gallery Dublin PAD, Peter Petrou Gallery, London, UK Tresor Contemporary Craft Fair, Basel, Switzerland Narratives in Making, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny; Ruthin Centre, Wales A Name Unmade, Solstice Arts Centre; Nerve, Derry; the Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris, France BADA, Peter Petrou, London, UK In Residence II, Oliver Sears London, UK Summer Show @ Voltz Clarke NYC, USA PAD, Peter Petreou, London, UK Caliology, Solo Show, Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin In Residence, Oliver Sears London, UK

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Joseph Walsh

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

furniture / troscán

Joseph Walsh’s work reflects his passion for expression through material and form. He has developed a creative process inspired by the free, uplifting, and ever-changing grace found in nature. His work aims to capture the fluidity of a sketch – at the moment of inspiration – whereby the final form is only defined through its making.

Since commencing his practice, Joseph has deepened his knowledge of material and techniques by visiting and learning from master craft practitioners around the world. He has developed innovative making process which, while based on traditional techniques, often involve other craft forms. Breaking the traditional rules of making – as well as his own rules – Walsh creates bold and expressive forms in a widening range of materials which includes wood, marble and bronze. Walsh’s dynamic body of work reveals his intuitive relationship with making, sympathetic use of materials and expressive engagement with form.

Joseph is a self-taught designer-maker. His studio and workshop, which employs a team of master makers and design developers, was founded in 1999 and is based in Co. Cork.

maker profile

Joseph Walsh Studio www.josephwalshstudio.com info@josephwalshstudio.com Collections and Commissions • Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA • Centre Pompidou, Paris, France.

• Cooper Hewitt, Design Museum, New York, USA • The Mint Museum of Craft and Design, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA • Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA • National Museum of Ireland • National Gallery of Ireland • Tsubaki Grand Shrine, Japan • Ulster Museum, Ireland • Devonshire Collection, Chatsworth House, UK • DaLisca Family Church, Busolo, Verona, Italy • Dr Murray Frum and Nancy Lockhart Private Collection, Toronto, Canada • John H Bryan, Private Collection, Illinois, USA • Lord and Lady Harrington Collection, London, UK

134

• Rafael Vinoly Private Collection, Uruguay • Embassy of Japan, Dublin • Sacred Heart Church, Minane Bridge, Co. Cork Recent/Current Exhibitions SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2018 Rinn, Solo Exhibition,

Yufuku Gallery, Sogetsu

Arts Centre, Japan 2017 Joseph Walsh Exhibition,

Yufuku Gallery, Tsubaki

Shrine, Japan

Reveal, American Irish

Historical Society,

New York, USA 2014 Solo Exhibition, The

Roche Court Educational

Trust, New Art Centre, UK

Lilium, Oliver Sears

Gallery, Dublin 2011 ENIGNUM and other

stories, Oliver Sears

Gallery, Dublin 2008 Realisations, American

Irish Historical Society,

New York, USA

GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND FAIRS 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2019 Design Miami/Basel,

Switzerland and USA 2018 Crawford Gallery, Cork, Ireland Enignum Canopy Bed, Magnus Celestii, Earth, Wind, Fire 2017 Making/Breaking, Cooper Hewitt Museum, New York, USA Narratives in Making, Portfolio Crafts Council, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny Design Miami/Basel, Sarah Myerscough Gallery, Basel, Switzerland and Miami, USA Pavilion of Art & Design, Sarah Myerscough Gallery, London, UK Salon Art & Design, Sarah Myerscough Gallery, New York, USA

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Kathleen Walsh

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

wood / adhmad

Kathleen Walsh’s work is ‘an attempt to find reconciliation and balance between seemingly opposing elements such as the traditional and the modern, the natural and the manufactured, industry and nature’. Her work is inspired by the world of nature and combines traditional woodturning skills with modern resin casting techniques, ‘to reconcile the conflict, to find equilibrium and hopefully a pleasing and peaceful cohabitation between the two’. The unique natural characteristics of each piece of wood are considered and resin is used to bring light and an interplay of translucency to each ‘with the sharp shock of resin colour enhancing the natural beauty of the wood’.

Kathleen is fascinated by the rhythms, repeated patterns and variety of forms in the natural world. ‘I love to fully examine the physical and aesthetic behaviours of my materials. I like to push their boundaries, find their limits, their strengths and their weaknesses. The process, where there is a constant reminder to work within the constraints the material presents, can sometimes be chaotic and unsettling, but it is in this process where the discovery lies of how to maximise a material’s potential and bring out the best.’ Kathleen lives and works in Dublin.

maker profile

Kathleen Walsh www.kathleen-walsh.com kathleenawalsh@gmail.com

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Collections and Commissions Artist commissioned for Business to Arts Awards Sculpture 2021 Awards Artist for presentation by the IDA to Apple CEO Tim Cook, 2020 Recent Awards 2021 Shortlisted for the

RDS National Crafts Competition 2020 Future Makers

Overall Winner DCCI Recent/Current Exhibition 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork

Made in Ireland,

National Design & Craft

Gallery, Kilkenny 2019 Gifted, RDS, Dublin

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PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Gráinne Watts

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

ceramics / ceirmeacht

Gráinne Watts’s current body of work is inspired by various found and observed forms in the natural world. Using either smooth stoneware clay or Ming porcelain, she explores her fascination with organic geometry and a love of colour. She tends to work in series as this approach allows for new directions and solutions to evolve in the development of forms and surface decoration.

Recent pieces feature large scale wall-mounted forms and groups of smaller vessels as wall installations. ‘When making the Bindu and Vortex series, my aim was to create forms and vessels that evoke a visual, tactile and emotional response through form and the use of colour and pattern.

I use underglazes because I love the seemingly soft texture they create and when I combine that velvet background with contrasting pattern, the end result pulsates.’ She achieves the smooth surface on her porcelain work by using fine-turning and sanding techniques.

Gráinne graduated from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin in 1982. She subsequently completed at two-year apprenticeship with Geoffrey Healy Pottery. She is currently moving to a new home and studio in Bennettsbridge, Co. Kilkenny.

maker profile

Gráinne Watts www.grainnewattsceramics.com grainne@grainnewattsceramics.com Collections and Commissions • Ulster Museum • Design & Crafts Council of Ireland • Department of Foreign Affairs • Oliver Sears Collection • Office of Public Works Recent Awards 2017 RDS National Crafts Competition, Established Maker Award of Excellence and California Gold Medal, Ceramics Category Winner 2014 RDS National Crafts Competition, Ceramics Category Winner, Ceramics Ireland Award and DCCI Purchase Award Winner of the Dublin Airport Authority commission to design the Allianz B2Arts Awards

136

2013

2011

Mill Cove Gallery Award of Excellence Peter Brennan Pioneering Award

Recent/Current Exhibitions 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork

COLLECT, Alveston Fine

Arts, London, UK 2020 Homo Faber Guide, Michelangelo Foundation, featured Master Craftsman Land/Marks, Ceramics Ireland’s Triennial exhibition at Farmleigh Gallery, Dublin Featured Maker, September, Alveston Fine Art Gallery, London, UK Bevere Gallery, UK Collect 2020, Somerset House, London, UK 2019 Modern Made, Lyon & Turnbull Auction, London, UK

2018

Surface Matters, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny; Artesania , Catalunya, Barcelona Ceramic Art London, Central Saint Martins, UK Surface and Form, Clay College, Stoke-on-Trent, UK Painters and Makers, SO Fine Art Editions, Dublin Auction of Decorative and Contemporary Ceramics, Bonhams, London, UK Modern Made, Lyon & Turnbull, UK Le Décor Comme Élément Structurel, Galerie Du Don, France Ceramic Art London, Central St Martins, UK A Pot in the Hand, The Roundhouse Gallery, Derbyshire , UK CLAY/WORKS, The Printworks, Dublin Castle, Dublin

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022

Zelouf & Bell

Design & Crafts Council Ireland

furniture / troscán

Susan Zelouf and Michael Bell established their studio in 1992 in Co. Laois.

Along with their team of master craftspeople, they are committed to designing architectural furniture to the most rigorous standards.

Their award-winning work is in private collections, public offices, embassy residences, churches and museums nationally and internationally.

Here, on the edge of what we know cocktail cabinet is inspired

by Italian physicist Carlo Rovelli’s book Seven Brief Lessons on Physics. It features a cosmos of mother-of-pearl stars and planets inlaid in its silveryblue, ripple sycamore offset doors. The work was created using traditional joinery techniques along with veneering and marquetry. The cabinet is set on a brushed brass base; one of the profiled shelves features the cabinet's name, inscribed in gold Letraset.

‘We sometimes describe our work as a convergence of two oceans.

When two bodies of water meet there is tension, a difference in salinity, temperature, density, currents, colour, sediment ... eventually, they mix. It's like that with Michael and me. He's from Northern Ireland, from a science, maths and engineering background. I’m from New York, from a theatre arts, music and writing background. Both of us believe a thing well made is a thing worth making.’

maker profile

Zelouf+Bell www.zeloufandbell.com studio@zeloufandbell.com

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Collections and Commissions National Museum of Ireland Guinness Hopstore Office of Public Works Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud, Dublin Gothic Church, Kylemore Abbey Farmleigh House and Estate, Dublin Recent Awards 2015 IFDA NY (International

Furnishings and Design

Association, NY chapter):

Best in Show, Decorative

Accessories, Architectural

Digest Home Design Show 2015 ADORNO Magazine:

Best in Show,

overall craftsmanship,

Architectural Digest Home 2005 Create 2005 John

Makepeace Furniture

Oscar, shortlist

137

2004 RDS National Crafts

Competition Exhibition 2004 Laois National

Enterprise Award 2003 Irish Joinery Award for

Old Market Room, Irish

Stock Exchange, Dublin 2001 Irish Joinery Award for

Conference Room,

Government Supply Agency 2000 Plan Expo Best Design-led

Furniture award Recent/Current Exhibitions SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2013 21st Century Classics,

Le Centre Culturel

Irlandais, Paris, France 2012 Retrospect, Motor House

Gallery at Farmleigh,

Irish State Guesthouse,

Phoenix Park, Dublin 2007 Back to Black, Smoketree

Building, Twentynine

Palms, California

GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND FAIRS 2021 Conjuring Form Doneraile Court, Cork 2020 Maison & Objet, Paris 2019 Surface Matters,

National Craft and

Design Gallery, Kilkenny 2019 Surface Matters,

Dublin Castle and

Artesania Catalunya, Barcelona 2019 House, RDS, Dublin 2018 TEFAF New York,

featured works

with Maison Gerard,

New York, USA 2018 Salon NY, New York,

USA, represented by

Maison Gerard 2018 House, RDS Dublin 2018 Decorex International, London 2017 Salon NY, New York,

USA, represented by

Maison Gerard 2017 Royal Ulster Academy

Annual Exhibition

at the Ulster Museum

About Us The Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI) is the national agency for the commercial development of Irish designers and makers, stimulating innovation, championing design thinking and informing Government policy.

Our vision is that Ireland is recognised and valued for its culture of design and craft. DCCI’s activities are funded by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation via Enterprise Ireland. DCCI currently has 59 member organisations and over 3,000 registered clients. www.dcci.ie Design & Crafts Council Ireland Castle Yard, Kilkenny, Ireland T. +353 (0) 56 776 1804 F. +353 (0) 56 776 3754 www.dcci.ie Brian McGee Market Development Director E. brian@dcci.ie / T. (056) 7796145

Colophon Editor: Ciara Garvey Proof-reader: Paula Elmore Copywriting: Meadhbh Hand Publication Design: Atelier TypoGraphic Design (Oran Day) Photography: Roland Paschhoff, Stuart Burford (Copyright Erskine, Hall & Coe), Richard Foster, Matt Smith, Bob Given, Aileen Dillon, Steve Tanner, Sylvain Deleu (Courtesy of Sarah Myerscough Gallery), Jonathan Bassett, Edmond Byrne (Courtesy of The New Craftsmen), Janice O’Connell (F22 Photography), Norman Wilcox-Geissen, Michael Rice, Trevor Hart, Mary Conroy, Rory Moore, Steve Rogers, Brian Cregan, David Pauley, Sadhbh Mowlds, Stuart Cairns, Scott Benefield, Alan Meredith, Andrew Jackson (Image of History Desk and Chair), Conor McCabe, Michael McLaughlin, Doreen Kilfeather Printing: Print Media Services, Dublin Binding: Printglaze, Dublin ISBN: 978-1-906691-79-0

Ciara Garvey Development Manager, Collector & Tourism Programmes E. ciara@dcci.ie / T. (056) 7796137 Mary Dunne Market Development Officer E. marydunne@dcci.ie / T. (056) 7777015

All images and captions reproduced in this book have been supplied by the selected makers. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, DCCI does not under any circumstances accept responsibility for errors, omissions and/or inferior digital files/sources. © Copyright the authors, makers, photographers and publishers. All rights reserved. Under no circumstances can any part of this book be reproduced, in any way, without the prior permission of the copyright owners.

front cover image

Stuart Cairns Hinterlands Spoons Silver, steel, linen, found bone, gathered sea plastic, 12 × 5cm each Photographer Stuart Cairns back cover image

Jennifer Hickey The heart compared to a seed Porcelain, tulle, translucent thread, 17 × 15cm and 6.5 × 6cm Photographer Aileen Dillon

PORTFOLIO Critical Selection 2021–2022 ISBN: 978-1-906691-79-0 dcci.ie/portfolio