Claire Curneen
"Curneen’s work offers us a precious liminal space of contemplation, like an altar or an icon but crucially, if there is devotion here, it is to humanity and creativity"
Teleri Lloyd Jones for the exhibition catalogue ‘to this I put my name’
Working in Cardiff
1987-1990 Crawford College of Art & Design, Cork
1990-1991 University of Ulster, Belfast, Postgraduate Diploma in Applied Arts
1991-1992 University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, MA Ceramics
Claire Curneen’s 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.
Claire Curneen has work in the following public collections:
Crafts Council, London
Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead
National Museum & Gallery of Wales, Cardiff
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Manchester City Art Gallery, Manchester
National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth, Wales
Cleveland Craft Centre, Middlesbrough
Oldham Art Gallery and Museum, Manchester
York City Art Gallery, York
Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, Middlesbrough
Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, Eire
Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick, Eire
Ulster Museum, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece
Clay Studio, Philadelphia, USA
Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Icheon World Ceramic Centre, Gyeonggi-do, Korea
Taipei Ceramics Museum, Taiwan
Works for Sale
