Kate O'Kelly

Artist Bio

Kate O’Kelly, originally from Co. Wicklow is based in Cork where she lectures on the Contemporary Applied Art course at Crawford College of Art and Design. O’Kelly graduated with a Master through Research in Ceramics  from NCAD in 2013.

Working primarily with Ceramics, specialising in slip casting and model making, her practice is influenced by an interest in adapting established craftsmanship techniques, combined with digital technologies.  Often working with assemblages, O’Kelly’s work references the role of objects and memory, and how architectural spaces resonate with our sense of identity. 

Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including, Denmark, Italy and Czech Republic. Residencies included the British Ceramics Biennial in 2013, NCAD Industrial Design dept, 2015, and at LSAD in 2016.

Awards include a Future Makers Innovation Award ,2014, the Golden Fleece Merit Prize, 2015 and the RDS Craft Awards Emerging Maker, 2017. In 2018 she represented Ireland at the European Ceramics Biennial, Bornholm, Denmark. 

She was invited in 2020 to exhibit at Dublin Castle by OPW and Hélène Bremer , For the Love of the Master : 20 Artists fascinated with Piranesi.

Artist Statement

My practice explores how our identity is shaped by physical objects and environments, encompassing themes of memory, play, our imagination, and the subconscious. Focusing on the domestic environment, its ornamental, decorative, and the functional, my interest lies in exploring the significant roles that such objects can play in life as both carriers and repositories of meaning.  

Evocative Objects and Familiar Unknown are two series inspired by the solitude of the rural Irish countryside in Wicklow, and my grandmother’s eclectic Georgian house. These assemblages manifested as surreal hybrid objects, referencing the visual environments of my childhood. The work is intended to be playful and evocative, engaging the viewer with a sense of familiarity and wonder. 

In 2020 I was invited by the OPW  and Dutch art historian / curator Hélène Bremer to make new work in response to the Italian architect and printmaker, Giovanni Piranesi, for an exhibition at Dublin Castle in 2022, For the Love of the Master : 20 Artists fascinated with Piranesi.

I set about building a fictional archive of architectural elements, exploring a new language of form through compositions of various ceramic components, suggesting remnants of abandoned classical architecture:  Fragments from an Imaginary Landscape.

Instagram: @kateokellyceramics

Membership: Studio