“MATERIAL RHYTHMS” IRISH CRAFT EXHIBITION
A selected exhibition of craft work by Irish makers on the occasion of the Fleadh Ceoil in Wexford
Greenacres Art Gallery, Wexford
Sat 3rd August – Sat 29th September 2024
Introduction by the curator, Mary Gallagher
As Wexford resounds to the vigorous beat of Irish traditional music, song and dance, it is appropriate that we celebrate also the skill of Irish makers who take basic raw materials and make magic with them. Material Rhythms presents work by a selection of skilled makers from Ireland working in clay, glass, wool, metal and paper.
The word “make” is a simple one which disguises the complexity of designing and making objects. It doesn’t carry, in any obvious way, the echoes of the experimentation, the mistakes, the risks, the skill. It doesn’t capture the heartache and the joy.
At a time when touching screens is as close to handwork that many get, it is a pleasure to celebrate the work produced by the hands of these makers. The display of ceramics encompasses decorative and functional work in different materials and styles. It ranges from the exquisite lustre ware of Mark Campden, through the painterly wall pieces by Nanette Ledwith to the distinctive work of Caroline Dolan, Hilary Jenkinson and Aisling McElwain. Ann Kenny’s atmospheric prints on the story of Báidín Fheilimí will evoke childhood echoes. There is also a story embedded in Eva Lynch’s work, in terms of both the development of the work itself and the material from which it is made. That traditional and universal material, willow, is given new life in the boats and bowls made by Trish Killelea and David Purcell of Island Willow. The emphatic colour of Denis Byrne’s glass will make you smile while the more subtle shades of Terry Dunne’s tapestries will quietly seduce you.
I would like to thank James O’Connor of Greenacres for inviting me to curate this exhibition. I would also like to thank the participating makers; without them there would be no show.
ARTISTS
Denis Byrne
Denis Byrne’s interest in glass began when he was a boy. In the eighties and nineties his work as an antiques dealer was centred on glass, especially Irish glass from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In 2019 he set up his own studio where he began to make fused glass objects. This process involves designing, cutting and assembling an array of clear and coloured handmade glass. After firing, the pieces are sometimes decorated using etching and enamelling techniques.
Denis is a founder and active member of the Glass Society of Ireland. He is also a member of Wicklow Craft Foundation and DCCI (Design and Crafts Council Ireland).
All my life, I have loved glass in all its manifestations. I am a glass collector and glass artist. I mainly collect late 18th early 19th century Irish glass. I make individually designed pieces of decorative table ware using hand rolled glass. I design, cut, fuse and slump pieces which I may go on to enamel and engrave.
Recently I have begun exhibiting my work at home and abroad. I attended a course in mould-making in Spain and am now learning to make unique moulds and cast more organic and freely shaped pieces.
During COVID, I participated, along with fellow GSOI members, in making a glass blanket entitled A Breath of Fresh Air. This work was shown in Ireland, Scotland and in Venice during Venice glass week. This piece has now been bought by The National Museum of Ireland.
I exhibited in Sculpture in Context in 2023 and Hunting Brook gardens that same year.
Mark Campden
Mark grew up in Aldermaston village in England, across the road from the Aldermaston Pottery, where his father the renowned potter and artist, Edgar Campden worked. His mother Doreen Campden is an accomplished sculptor and artist.
Mark took up pottery when he came to Ireland in 1990. He gets his inspiration from the natural world and illustrates his pots with a variety of traditional and exotic animals and flowers. He uses tin-glazed majolica as his primary medium; he also produces work using the lustre technique.
He was a recipient of the Crafts Council of Ireland Award at the RDS National Crafts Competition in 2002. In 2011 Mark won first prize in the same competition for traditional ceramics and also received the RDS Award of Excellence Reserve Prize.
Mark’s work was shown most recently in Rare Earth, an exhibition of his lustre ware in the O’Connell Gallery in Clonakilty.
Caroline Dolan
Caroline Dolan produces an original range of hand thrown pottery that is both functional and decorative. Creating simple forms, her focus is mainly on surface decoration of her work. She explores a wide range of decorative, visual and tactile qualities through the interplay of slips and glazes. She also enjoys working to commission to create unique pieces.
Caroline is a graduate of the ceramics skills course run by the Crafts Council of Ireland in Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny. Her studio, which she shares with her partner, Mark Campden, is in the delightful countryside of Co. Kilkenny in Burnchurch.
My work currently expresses the interest and enjoyment derived from the interplay of slips and glazes on the surface of my pots. I am exploring the wide range of decorative, visual, and tactile results that can be achieved from a surprisingly small palette. Smooth, warm matt finishes and soft, bubbling crater surfaces make pots that are interesting to look at and to touch. I throw my pots on the wheel and fire mostly to stoneware temperatures in an oxidising atmosphere.
TERRY DUNNE
Terry the weaver has been weaving as a tapestry artist for the past forty years. He graduated from Dun Laoghaire School of Art with a distinction in textiles, which led on to a one-year course at The Kilworth Craft Workshops in 1981.He was awarded The Sir Alfred Beit Award in 1980 and A Crafts Council Bursary Award in 2009.
He now lives and weaves in Co. Wexford where he produces fine art tapestries for the corporate sector as well as the church and private commissions. His work can be seen in many collections both public and private. He has had many large commissions for the church and for corporate collections as well as for private collectors. See his websites for images of these.
He has exhibited his work widely over the past many years both in Ireland and abroad in one-man shows as well as group exhibitions. He has won first prize at the RDS National Crafts Awards in 2010, 2008, 2005, and 1980 and exhibited in this touring show nationwide many times. Currently Terry is weaving a tapestry commission for a client in Dublin.
Terry is also a leading member of Contemporary Tapestry Artists and of the Timelines Tapestry Group. Both groups are committed to the making and exhibiting of tapestries in Ireland and abroad.
Trish Killalea
I have been fortunate to grow up on a farm in the west of Ireland where craft and growing food were an integral part of our lives. My mother and her siblings were all very talented craftspeople and she knit commercially. She taught me to knit at a young age and I have practiced many different crafts since then. My father always kept a kitchen garden where I spend a lot of my childhood. I love natural materials particularly willow because I can grow my own materials.
Here in Lady’s Island, we grow 20 different varieties to ensure we have a range of colours and sizes of rods. I handcraft pieces based on traditional weaving techniques learnt from some of Ireland’s master basket makers. I have also explored basketry further afield particularly in Spain where different weaving techniques from farming and fishing have been adapted to produce modern stylish work. I enjoy mixing techniques to produce unique pieces.
David Purcell
A native of Wexford, David returned to live near his family homeplace following a career spent working with communication systems in Dublin.
His first experience of basket making in 2013 was the beginning of a journey, learning this ancient craft from skilled makers in Ireland and in Spain. He went on to establish a willow plantation and workshop with his wife, Trish (also a basket maker), beside his home in Lady’s Island.
Having spent many years using fine tools in the electronics workshop, his hand work now continues with willow and the shapes and structures that can be achieved with this wonderfully sustainable material. A lover of nature, the outdoors and the sea, working with willow provides a joyful expression for all of these interests.
Hilary Jenkinson
Hilary Jenkinson of Crannmor Pottery has been creating her own pottery by traditional hand-throwing methods for over 20 years. She uses porcelain clay which she throws quite finely to achieve her delicate pots. The crisp whiteness of the porcelain clay lends itself to simple form and the use of a subtle decoration technique; this is achieved by creating cracks in the clay which she then emphasises by adding colour.
Her other form of decoration is bolder and looser combining vibrant brushstrokes of colour with some wax resist, slip trailed glaze and a hint of platinum lustre. She draws inspiration from her surrounding woodlands and her love of coastal swims.
Hilary’s love for clay began in Thomastown Co. Kilkenny during the Grennan Mill Craft Coarse. She then completed her Diploma in ceramic design at the Crawford College of Art and Design. In 1992 she completed the Pottery Skills Course, run by the DCCI (Design and Crafts Council Ireland) in 1992.
Having worked for a couple of potters in Co. Galway she opened her own workshop in Ballinrobe, Co Mayo in 1995. She subsequently moved to Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny and is now working in Co. Wicklow.
Throwing pots on the wheel has always been my preferred technique because of its instancy. You begin with a lump of clay and a few minutes later you lift a pot off the wheel. My main ceramic inspirations are Hans Coper and Walter Keeler. I love how strong their pots are through simple uncomplicated form and minimal decoration. I have always preferred straight lines rather than the more traditional bellied pots and my shapes were originally based on old pewter tankards and tin pots. Clay is such a fluid material to work with and I throw quite finely so I feel my liner forms give a solid strength to my pots.
I try to create pots that are beautiful, not just to look at but also a joy to hold and use. I want my pots to be a part of your everyday life and to continue onto the next generation.
Ann Kenny
Ann Kenny is a writer, illustrator, and print artist. She works primarily with monoprint, collage and chine collé. She brings together all three elements of her practice in her limited edition handbound illustrated books. Her vibrant work celebrates colour and form and creates playful dreamy worlds that appeal to both children and adults alike. Ann lives and works in Wexford. Everything she makes is inspired by stories. She is a member of the Design and Craft Councils Ireland and The Black Church Print Studio.
Nanette Ledwith
Nanette Ledwith is an artist potter who specialises in making one off plates and bowls, many of which are wall pieces and may be viewed as paintings.
Essentially, she is an image maker who draws into and paints onto a clay surface. Each piece is hand crafted and is based on drawings made in her rural environment. The colours and textures reflect the Irish landscape. Natures irregular asymmetrical harmony and seasonal moods are captured in these spontaneous and painterly works.
Nanette first began studying art at third level in IADT Dun Laoghaire (Institute of Art, Design and Technology) majoring in 3D design, followed by a 2 year pottery apprenticeship and a H Dip in NCAD (National College of Art and Design). She then began a full time career teaching art while simultaneously continuing and developing her ceramics with an MA at the University of Ulster. Here she developed her present style of work. Her inspiration comes from observation of nature in her surroundings of sea, mountains and floral and fauna.
Rolled out flat slabs of clay for me are like a canvas to paint on. Clay, however, by its nature is an amazing material; it can be scored, drawn on and textured. The whole notion too of clay coming from the ground connects it to earth, growth, and therefore my surroundings. My garden, my green location, and the sea and mountain views are absorbed my work.
Eva Lynch
I am an artist and educator with a background in silversmithing and jewellery. I am passionate about the survival of ancient techniques as I believe that the preservation of hand-skills is the preservation of humanity.
Provoked by a sense of complicity in the destruction of nature to create luxury goods my practice has evolved in a new direction from primarily designing decorative jewellery and holloware. Using traditional silversmithing techniques I develop objects with functions that extend beyond purely the aesthetic.
I coined the term Anthropoware to describe works that provoke reflection on the human relationship with material things, highlighting how this relationship affects the natural world and on our inherent humanity. Through their message, materials, techniques or function Anthropoware seek to reconnect humanity and nature.
In 2022 The OPW and the National Museum of Ireland purchased the first two of my Anthropoware works. These were small kinetic sculptures designed to be spun by the hands, exploring the concept that the subconscious mind, and a sense of wellbeing, is triggered whilst engaging the hands in mindful activity. I am currently developing a new iteration of this kinetic sculpture to be installed in The National Museum of Decorative Arts at Collins Barracks in Jan 2025. This will be the central piece in a solo exhibition of my work running for a year at the museum. A series of educational workshops on the Anthropoware concept will run alongside the exhibition.
Story Bowl is carved from copper ore retrieved from a quarry in Gortdrum, Co Tipperary, the site of the last operating copper mine in Ireland. All that remains of the mine, which closed in the eighties, is a deep hole in the earth, filled now with rain water, and surrounded by mounds of rocks and tailings- like so many other mine sites. Using alternatives to mined metals the copper sheet in this work was reclaimed from a roof in Co. Laois.
The story of the vessel’s development is narrated on the wide copper rim using the ancient techniques of chasing and repoussé. These skills have been passed down by hand since the Bronze Age, and to me from my father Kevin Lynch who also contributed his hands and knowledge to this piece.
The story chased into the rim of the vessel conveys many of the elements that must come together in order for this object to exist- from the initial copper smelting that evolved in the Bronze Age to the skills that are passed down historically by hands, to the environmental impact of contemporary extraction. It is impossible to pay tribute to all of the hands, tools, techniques and nature’s materials that make a work like this possible but by including some of the important parts of the biography of this piece I hope to provoke curiosity and contemplation about the true “cost’ of the objects we accumulate around us.
Artist & Cartoon Saloon animator, Ross Stewart, illustrated the story in a visual style that is accessible to all.
Stone carver James Horan carved the ore ‘bowl’ with me.
Dr Sean Mc Clenaghan, Professor of Economic Geology at Trinity College Dublin, assisted with selection of chalcopyrite (copper ore).
Special thanks to Patsy Rea for access to his land, ores, and wealth of knowledge at Gortdrum.
Story Bowl was developed thanks to financial assistance from the Arts Council of Ireland Agility Award and a DCCI Future Makers Award.
Aisling McElwain
Originally from Co. Monaghan, Aisling always had a keen interest in arts and crafts and studied art in secondary school in Co. Kildare. Following a few years each of university, work and travel, Aisling relocated to Wexford in 2008 to work as a spatial analyst. In 2012, she attended a ceramic course which ignited her passion for clay. The following summer, having attended a second course, Aisling knew instinctively that ceramics was the future for her. She successfully applied for the DCCI Ceramics Skills and Design Course which she completed in 2016. She then set up her own studio in Kilkenny where she produces her own range of ceramics.
Mary Gallagher, Curator
Inspired by a long-held passion for craft, Mary Gallagher ran the Blue Egg Craft Gallery in Wexford between 2011 and 2022. There she exhibited contemporary craft work in all media by Irish and international makers. Each year she curated five or six exhibitions.
Prior to that, while also working as a maritime transport consultant, Mary organised exhibitions in Dublin, Waterford and Wexford including Fitzharris at the Port (Dublin Port), Dublin Port Print, (Dublin Port Centre & Graphic Studio Gallery) and Element, (Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford with Una Parsons). In 2008, 2009 and 2010 she curated Gifted, in Wexford Arts Centre. In 2008/09 she chaired a panel which developed a new exhibitions policy for the Crafts Council of Ireland.
In 2021, along with her co-curators, Hilary Morley and Stephen O’Connell Mary organised MADE IN IRELAND. This selected exhibition featured work by 110 makers and toured to three locations: the National Design and Craft Gallery Kilkenny, Farmleigh Gallery Dublin and the F.E. McWilliam Gallery, Banbridge. This was one of the biggest craft exhibitions held in Ireland for many years.
Following the closure of the gallery, Mary is curating occasional craft exhibitions on a freelance basis. In 2023 she curated MADE IN KILKENNY for the Made in Kilkenny craft collective of 28 makers. This exhibition was held in the National Design and Craft Gallery.
Contact details: Tel +353 87 6894617
E-mail: mary@blueegggallery.ie