Mags Dunne Artist
about
Mags Dunne, a native of Co.Tipperary, graduated from Limerick School of Art and Design in 1996 with a Bachelors Degree in Ceramic Design. She has held studio spaces in Limerick and Cork and exhibited in many group shows.
Mags has long drawn inspiration from the land and the natural world, with her artwork deeply rooted in the exploration and reflection on her environment. Her creative practice encompasses a wide range of subjects, from the landscape as a whole to the individual forms within it, offering a thoughtful contemplation of the world around us.
Now based in Limerick, Mags continues to explore these themes using a variety of medium; ceramic, paint, inks, paper to produce original works of art.
Mags has long drawn inspiration from the land and the natural world, with her artwork deeply rooted in the exploration and reflection on her environment. Her creative practice encompasses a wide range of subjects, from the landscape as a whole to the individual forms within it, offering a thoughtful contemplation of the world around us.
Now based in Limerick, Mags continues to explore these themes using a variety of medium; ceramic, paint, inks, paper to produce original works of art.
leaf litter
A common theme in poetry and art, leaves and trees are celebrated and referenced for the cycles of life and their vibrant colours. In poetry and prose, they are frequently used to evoke emotions and convey deeper meanings. Each leaf is individually cast from real leaves collected by the artist along with other arboreal elements collected and observed during walks and explorations. Leaf Litter celebrates the simple beauty of the natural world in the cycle of growth, decay and renewal.
forest floor
‘It’s a place of healing, the forest floor. A place intent on living.’ ( 'The Forest Floor' by Mariella Rossi)
landlines
Landscapes in clay. A series of ceramic pieces featuring embossed map lines and incorporating incised detail, textures and glazes to capture the Irish mountainous landscape. Each piece is unique and framed in a box frame white wood grain with no glass front.
horizons
A series of small works on paper inspired by map contour lines and the ever changing weathers of the Irish mountains. Each piece is unique featuring embossed lines and incised detail with inks. Framed in off-white wood grain frames with glass.
natural processes
Natural Processes is a series exploring the line, texture and natural forces of the mountainous landscape using plaster slabs (carved with map contour lines and originally used for the ceramic Landlines series) to print onto paper. The name of the series was not just to capture themes of erosion and weather, it was also for the natural progression of using existing resources to pursue another path of making and continuing exploring the mountains via maplines on paper.
sculptural ceramics
I am continuously collecting and photographing the natural forms around me. Here is a selection of some of my once off ceramic pieces inspired by this exploration.
exhibitions
| May - August 2024 | Summer Open Exhibition, Courthouse Gallery, Ennistymon, Co Clare. ‘Duilleog’ from Forest Floor series. |
| May-July 2023 | Summer of Love Exhibition, Courthouse Gallery, Ennistymon, Co Clare. ‘Departing Blushes’ from Leaf Litter series. |
| December 2022 | LSAD Christmas Crescent Exhibition, featuring work from current and alumni of LSAD. Selection of works from Landlines series. |
| July – Aug 2022 | The Secret Garden, Berkely Gallery, Grennan Mill, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny. 3 works selected as part of exhibition. |
| May 2022 | ‘Leaf Litter’ Limerick Museum, The Old Franciscan Friary, Henry Street, Limerick. Solo exhibition of new ceramic work featuring 13 pieces centred on delicately cast leaves. |
| July -Oct 2021 | Display of artworks from Landlines and Horizons series at Studio 38, Main Street, Birr, Co Offaly. |
| Sept 2010 | ‘Keeping Contact’, Contact Studios, Limerick. Collection of new work from members of Contact Studios past and present. Untitled piece from Natural Processes series, Plaster relief print - acrylic and gouache on paper (260 x 410mm framed). |
| Mar 2010 | ‘Backwater Twenty – 10’ Exhibition, Celebration of 20 years of the Backwater Artists Group. Crawford Art Gallery, Cork. Untitled piece from a body of work (Natural Processes series) Acrylic and gouache on paper (300x500mm framed). |
| Aug 2007 | Curated show featuring Limerick artists held in Fermoy Centre and Gallery, Fermoy, Co Cork, Various small works from the 2005 Mountain Series which explored the Irish mountains and landscape through ceramic (stoneware panels) and ink on paper. |
| Cork City of Culture 2005 | Open Studios Event, Backwater Studios, Wandesford Quay, Cork. Display of work in progress alongside finished pieces from the Mountain Series which explored the Irish mountains and landscape through ceramics and ink/paint on paper. |
| Nov 2003 | Cork Art Trail, O ’Rahailly Building, UCC. “Mountain triptych”, 3 ceramic panels showing mountain scene through drawn contour map lines. (Approx. 300 x 300mm mounted on board). |
| Sept 2003 | ‘Chapters of Change’, Old Clare St. Church, Limerick School of Art and Design. “Mountain Ram” (ceramic – stoneware and red earthenware) ceramic sculptural piece of a mountain ram skull in stoneware accompanied with two ram horns, in stoneware and red earthenware. |
| Feb- Mar 2001 | ‘link’, Real ArtSpace, 58 Mary St., Limerick. “coral” (ceramic -porcelain). |
| Apr - Jun 2000 | ‘Alarm in Contact’, Java’s Beat Café, Catherine St., Limerick. “Radiolarian”, chalk pastels on paper. (460 x 610mm framed) |
| 1996 | EBS Exhibition, RDS, Dublin. 2 sculptural pieces based on radiolarian forms from Degree Show., Ceramic - stoneware. |
news & events
Sep 16, 2024
CHG&S Summer Exhibition 2024 - Duilleog
May 31, 2023
Summer of Love Exhibition 2023
May 31, 2023
Work from Leaf Litter Series available in Mill Cove Gallery
Dec 06, 2022
LSAD Artists on Display: 06 - 20 December 2022
Jul 21, 2022
The Secret Garden: 31 July - 20 August 2022
May 06, 2022
Exhibition 'Leaf Litter' - May 2022
Apr 22, 2022
Incognito 2022
Mar 30, 2022