You may remember earlier in the week that I mentioned here that the Irish Design Works Exhibition 2018 is opening soon, and I wanted to share the details of some of the designers that will be showcasing their works at the exhibition. There are 11 designers so I am going to share the details of 6 designers today and then the other 5 designers on Saturday (here).
Colin Grehan
Colin Grehan was raised in Templemore, Co. Tipperary and now lives and works near the village of Monivea, Co. Galway. He developed an interest in stone carving and sculpture in his early teens achieving early success and recognition, his work having been accepted for the Royal Hibernian Academy’s exhibition in 1991 when he was 19 years old.
Colin’s portfolio of work includes major public artworks for the Nenagh By-Pass and the Market Square in Navan carved in Irish limestone as well as numerous works for public, private and ecclesiastical clients. The diversity and range of his commissioned work is a testament to a creative imagination and drive which is harnessed to a philosophy of craftsmanship and excellence.
In recent years Colin has managed to balance work in arts and skills education with a rewarding career as a professional artist, working in a range of art, craft and design enterprises and collaborations with companies as well as other artists and craftspeople.
Daniel Gill
“Living with beautiful objects is not a luxury, it is a necessity”
Daniel Gill is based in Kiltulla Co. Galway, where he produces contemporary interpretations of Shaker, Federal and other classic American furniture.
He prides himself on the use of hand tools in his workshop to achieve the very high level of finish and quality of his furniture. He is also involved in the process of selecting the trees, having them sawn and finally dried in his own kiln, therefore ensuring a personal involvement at every stage in every piece he makes.
Dobos Ceramics
Ceramist Tatiana Dobos seeks to materialize in her works the mechanisms of the human inner battles while exploring the anatomy of the aftermath. The correlation she sees between sentiments, shapes and colours is transmuted in her creations. “I believe that balance and fulfilment bring to life circular and smooth shapes, while negativeness translates into sharp structures,” she has said.
Always observant of organic textures and forms, she aspires to create objects in complete harmony with the natural environment and the recurring clay elements represent the process of examining emotion. By using some of the most common types of clay like terracotta and stoneware shaped with a traditional hand-building technique, she expresses her sensibility towards simplicity and permanence.
Donnacha Cahill
Donnacha Cahill is an experienced professional artist from Athenry in County Galway. He has a degree in Fine Art Sculpture and has completed many different public art commissions as well as exhibiting his work nationally and internationally. He has exhibited his work at such festivals as The Galway International Arts Festival, The Drogheda Arts Festivals and The Electric Picnic. He has undertaken residencies for The National University of Galway, The Ballymena Creative Citizens Programme Antrim, and Work Room Four Hanoi Vietnam. He is known for his large installations and his use of steel.
Donnacha’s art practice revolves around observations and telling stories. ‘I believe that a good piece of art should be much more than something that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. My work all ways begins with interaction and investigation in the hope of representing something that will connect with the viewer’.
Emmet Kane
Emmet Kane was born and raised in Castledermot, Co. Kildare Ireland. He comes from five generations of Master Craftsmen. Self-taught, Kane creates thin-walled vessels which defy the difficulties of the medium and whose use of colour, is more readily associated with ceramics or glass. Today, he works predominantly in native hardwoods, citing a particular fondness for Irish oak, which he textures and ebonises, gilds and colours.
At times, his work looks like glass or plastic, even metal, until you draw near and see the texture or grain and wonder just how it was achieved. Kane has exhibited his work around the world and in 2015 he was the first living person in the History of the National Museum of Ireland, Decorative Arts and History Collins Barracks Dublin to have a retrospective exhibition ‘A Journey’: twenty-seven years of the work of Irish woodturner Emmet Kane. The exhibition was extended for over two years and closed in January 2017.
Kane has accepted invitations to teach, lecture and demonstrate his unique brand of woodturning around the world, including woodturning symposiums in Australia, Finland, England, France, Norway, Germany, and the USA and throughout the Island of Ireland.
Gabriel Furniture
Gabriel furniture is a family-run business based in Galway, the west of Ireland. Ben Gabriel originally from Holland started the business in Ireland 15 years ago. Joshua, his eldest son, joined the business after graduating from Letterfrack Furniture College in 2011.
We specialise in designing and making one-off commissions for private and corporate clients and furniture for batch-production which we sell through our website, www.bengabriel.com and various shows and exhibitions in Ireland, the UK and Holland.
Our designs are innovative and influenced by geometry, architecture which gives them their distinctive playful style and simplicity.
The materials we work with are European and native hardwoods, glass, steel and recently acrylic.
This year’s event will run from Wednesday 18th to Sunday 29th of July at Tribeton, Merchants Road, Galway. Admission is free and opening hours are 12 noon to 8 pm daily. I cannot wait to go along and see the work of the very talented craftsmen/designers. You can read more about the exhibition here and if you are interested here is my review of the 2015 Design Island Exhibition!
