By 24 design
Salon Art + Design 2021
NIAMH BARRY This Dublin-based designer fuses bronze sculptures and LED lights to create ambitious, complex and unique fixtures For a pithy summation of Niamh Barry’s aims and aesthetic, look no further than an eloquent statement posted on the website by the Dublin-based designer. In her mini-manifesto, Barry explains that she makes “three-dimensional drawings in bronze and light,” aspiring to “make work that transcends utility.” Over a 30-year career, Barry has finetuned her vision, creating hand-welded bronze sculptures embedded with LED strips. “The first piece I made using LED was in 2003/04 [Chain]. It really wasn’t something that was universally used at the time. I was taking components that were not designed to do what I did with them. I manipulated it to express this idea of drawing with light and bronze,” she says. Today, she makes around 30 pieces annually, creating bespoke, site-specific sculptural lighting items for clients worldwide. Recent commissions include Muscularity (2019), a gravity-defying assemblage that melds magnets and hand-formed bronze pieces. Other standout objects include Vessel Scape (2017), a vast ceiling-suspended work made for the headquarters of the Central Bank of Ireland in Dublin, inspired by the bows and sterns of the 3,000-year-old Broighter boat. “In terms of complexity of form, that was definitely our most ambitious piece up to that
point. It has a visual gravitas and presence that other pieces don’t have. We’re now working on a slightly larger piece for a private client in the UK,” Barry says. Barry has always been hands-on, welding, cutting and sanding materials, but having a solid 10-strong team has lightened the load. “I will experiment; I’ll have an idea and will try out a new patina perhaps and make all the prototypes. I’ll explore and play with materials, processes and finishes,” she says. The process starts with hand-drawn sketches that transform into bronze maquettes. “Ninety percent of what I do is imagining the work, and living with it in my mind’s eye – thinking about, for instance, how a certain piece will stand up to the surrounding architecture.” Post-pandemic, she plans to travel extensively, possibly heading to the next edition of Salon Art + Design in November (Covid restrictions permitting). Barry has shown unique works at the fair in recent years through Maison Gerard gallery of New York. “It’s the pinnacle of international design fairs, and a very important part of my year,” she says. “It’s a reference point that I always work towards.” Devotees of Barry’s work will not be disappointed this year as her latest creation, Artist Hand II, is due to go on show in the next edition.
Niamh Barry. Courtesy: Niamh Barry
