Claire Curneen: Daphne

About the Artist:

Claire Curneen (b. 1968) has been working in ceramics for over twenty years. She graduated from Crawford College of Art & Design, Cork, with a Diploma in Art and Design (Ceramics) in 1991. Her sculptures are poignant reflections on the nature of humanity and our precarious place within it. Universal themes of loss, suffering and sacrifice underlie her intricate, porcelain figures, their translucent and fragile qualities offering potent metaphors through which to consider the human condition. Her ceramic figures have an imposing presence which tap into our desires, fears and mysteries. They are highly visceral, referencing Catholic imagery from the early Italian Renaissance.

Porcelain, terracotta and black stoneware create an exquisite textural finish to these works, with dribbles of glaze and flashes of gold to accentuate their rich qualities. These figures bear bold narratives of human experiences and explore themes around death, rebirth and the sublime.

Return to exhibition