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. There is something profoundly moving in nature’s ability to break down and rebuild.
Drawing forms the foundation of my process. I investigate landscape, topography, botanical structures, architecture, and the ocean—observing and deconstructing these elements to inform sculptural forms that suggest natural contours, erosion, and movement.
I use the language of the form to display a fragile and vulnerable impermanence, while their surfaces embody the raw energy of the natural world. I draw inspiration from the textural richness of water and seaweeds, rusts and lichens. Rust speaks of decay and time; native mosses and lichens, indicators of unpolluted air, stand as quiet guardians of environmental balance.
My work mirrors nature’s rhythms: corrosion, decomposition, revival, and rejuvenation.
Using stoneware clay, I slab build, manipulating each form to convey flow and disruption. I then finish with dry, textured and volatile glazes that evoke the drama of the ocean, the corrosion of rust, the vitality of vegetation, and the delicacy of mosses and lichens. I am motivated by and in my making. My making is both a response to and reflection of the world around me, driven by an inner energy that shapes each piece as an extension of myself.
The desired outcome is a tactile expression of nature’s splendour, held within the precarious context of our environment, an invitation to pause, look closely, and consider what we stand to lose.
CATHY BURKE
BIOGRAPHY
Cathy is a ceramic artist whose work draws deeply on her background as a horticulturalist. Her botanical experiences continue to inform her creative process, offering a rich source of inspiration.
Cathy’s hand-built stoneware forms evoke emotion, movement, fragility, and decay, often referencing her enduring connection to the natural world. Each piece is finished with multiple layers of complex, volatile glazes designed to emulate flaking rusts, mossy lichens, and organic growths, surfaces that speak to the continual cycle of decay and renewal in a fragile environment.
Her distinctive practice has earned her multiple accolades, including the Golden Fleece Special Award (2023), Future Makers Awards, and Agility Awards from the Arts Council of Ireland. Cathy’s work has been exhibited widely in Ireland and internationally, including in the UK, Europe, Korea, and Japan, and is held in both public and private collections at home and abroad.
Recent exhibitions include Collect Art Fair, London (2022 & 2024), Handwerksform, Hannover, the International KOGEI Award in Toyama, Japan, Valcke Gallery, Ghent, and Conjuring Form—the Critical Selection of DCCI’s Portfolio 2021–22. Her work was also featured in the Ceramics Ireland Triennial 'Land/Marks', which exhibited at the International Ceramics Fair in Faenza, Italy.
In 2024, Cathy was one of only two Irish artists selected to exhibit at the prestigious European Ceramic Context in Bornholm, Denmark. She was also among the first Irish makers invited to join the Homo Faber Guide, an initiative of the Michelangelo Foundation celebrating excellence in craftsmanship across Europe.
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)
