In my practice I explore the fragile charm found in nature’s process of regeneration, looking at the rugged beauty found in the constant cycle of decay and renewal - there is a certain aesthetic found in the detritus and even more in the following resurgence.
Through drawing, I investigate the landscape, architecture, topography, botanical forms and the ocean to develop and deconstruct ideas before creating pieces that portray a sense of natural contours and movement.
I use the language of the form to display a fragile and vulnerable impermanence, while the surface quality reflects a natural energy found in water and seaweeds, rusts and lichens. Rusts are a tangible evidence of decay, while native Mosses and Lichens are signifiers of unpolluted air and are an important element of a stable environment.
The work imitates a process of corrosion, decomposition, revival and rejuvenation.
Using stoneware clay, I slab build, manipulate the form, then finish with dry, textured and volatile glazes to emulate dramatic oceans, corrosive rusts, vibrant vegetation and delicate mosses and lichens. I am motivated by and in my making. The process of refining clay sculpture involves an inner energy that results in work that is a reflection of me.
The desired outcome is an expression of nature's splendour within the vulnerable position of our environment.
CATHY BURKE
BIOGRAPHY
Cathy, previously a horticulturalist, draws on her botanical experiences for sources of inspiration.
She strives to depict emotion, movement, fragility and decay, while referencing elements of her attachment to nature.
She hand builds using Stoneware clay. Each piece is finished with multiple, complex and volatile glazes to emulate flaking rusts and mossy lichens, which reference a continual cycle of decay and renewal in a precarious environment.
She is multi award winning, including the Golden Fleece Special Award 2023, Future Makers Awards and Agility Awards from the Arts Council of Ireland. Her work has been exhibited in The UK, Europe, Korea, and Japan and has been purchased by public and private collectors at home and abroad.
Most recently her work has been exhibited in the Collect Art Fair London 2022 and 2024, Handwerksform in Hannover, Germany, the International KOGEI Award in Toyama, Japan, Valcke Gallery, Ghent, Belgium and in Conjuring Form - the Critical Selection of DCCI’S Portfolio 2021-22. Also in the Ceramics Ireland Triennial, ‘Land/Marks’ which featured in the International Ceramics Fair in Faenza, Italy. She is one of two Irish makers selected to exhibit at the European Ceramic Context in Bornholm, Denmark in September 2024 and was in the initial selection of Irish Makers chosen for the eminent Homo Faber Guide from The Michelangelo Foundation.
Cathy lives and works in County Wicklow, Ireland.
Her work can be found in the following collections :
2019 Irish Embassy Belgium Collection.
2019 Dromoland Castle Collection
2019 Mill Cove Gallery Collection.
2018 Cill Rialaig Arts Project Collection.
2016 Irish Embassy Korea, Collection.
2014 National State Collection (OPW Purchase Collection)
