Joseph Walsh (born 1979) is a self-taught Irish furniture maker and

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exper ...

. He was born in

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

, where he established his studio and workshop in 1999. From the outset, he pursued innovation in making through traditional techniques, often from other craft forms, which enabled new making methods and forms. This led to significant early commissions including various ecclesiastical clients, the Embassy of Japan and the

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland () is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has three branches in Dublin, the arch ...

. From these early years of experimentation and development, Joseph Walsh began to break the traditional rules of making in order to create the truly bold and expressive forms for which he is known today, realised in an ever-widening range of materials, including wood, resin, marble and bronze. His achievements in design have been recognised by an honorary doctorate from

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

, a major commission for the

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland () houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street, Dublin, Clare Street. It ...

and the acquisition of works for many major international collections, including most recently the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris.

Solo exhibitions

* ''Joseph Walsh, Paris, XXIII'', Le Domus Maubourg, Paris, France, 2023 * ''Joseph Walsh, Gestures, London 2022'',

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

, London, UK, 2022 * ''RINN'', Sogetsu Arts Centre, Japan, 2018 * ''LOCUS'',

Tsubaki Grand Shrine is a Shinto shrine in the Yamamoto neighborhood of the city of Suzuka in Mie Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the two shrines which claim the title of ''ichinomiya'' of former Ise Province. The main festival of the shrine is held annually on Oc ...

, Japan, 2017 * ''Reveal'',

American Irish Historical Society The American Irish Historical Society (AIHS) is a historical society devoted to Irish American history that was founded in Boston in the late 19th century. Non-partisan and non-sectarian since its inception in 1897, it maintains the most compl ...

New York, USA, 2017 * ''Lilium'', Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin, Ireland, 2014 * ''ENIGNUM and other stories'', Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin, Ireland, 2011 * ''Realisation''s,

, New York, USA, 2008

Select group exhibitions

* ''Mirror Mirror: Reflections on Design at Chatsworth'',

Chatsworth House Chatsworth House is a stately home in the Derbyshire Dales, north-east of Bakewell and west of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, Chesterfield, England. The seat of the Duke of Devonshire, it has belonged to the House of Cavendish, Cavendish family si ...

, Chatsworth, UK, 2023 * ''Living With Art We Love,''

, Chatsworth, UK, 2022 * ''Mimèsis. Un design vivant',''

Centre Pompidou-Metz The Centre Pompidou-Metz is a museum of modern and contemporary art located in Metz, capital of Lorraine, France. It is a branch of Pompidou arts centre of Paris, and features semi-permanent and temporary exhibitions from the large collection ...

, Metz, France, 2022 *

Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

West Bund Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, Shanghai, China, 2020 * ''Earth, Wind and Fire: Made in Cork Contemporary'',

Crawford Art Gallery The Crawford Art Gallery () is a public Art museum, art gallery and museum in the city of Cork (city), Cork, Ireland. Known informally as the Crawford, it was designated a 'National Cultural Institution' in 2006. It is "dedicated to the visual ar ...

, Cork, Ireland, 2018 * ''Making, Breaking: New Arrivals'',

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum at the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 Smithsonian Institution museums and one of three Smithsonian facil ...

, New York, USA, 2017 * ''Narratives in Making'', PORTFOLIO: Critical Selection, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland, 2017 * ''Master Works'', LongHouse Reserve, East Hampton, New York, USA, 2016 * ''Crafted: Objects in Flux'',

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the list of largest art museums, 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 painting ...

, USA * ''Side by Side'', PORTFOLIO: Critical Selection, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland; Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris, France; ID2015 Design Hub,

Coach House A ''carriage house'', also called a ''remise'' or ''coach house'', is a term used in North America to describe an outbuilding that was originally built to house horse-drawn carriages and their related tack. Carriage houses were often two st ...

, Dublin, Ireland, 2015 * ''Design Show: Joseph Walsh, Daniel Naude and Johannes Nagel'', Artist House, The Roche Court Educational Trust, New Art Centre, UK, 2014 * ''Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art and Craft'',

Museum of Arts and Design The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), based in Manhattan, New York City, collects, displays, and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art, and design. In its exhibitions and educational programs, the ...

, New York, USA, 2013 * ''Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art and Craft'',

Mint Museum The Mint Museum, also referred to as The Mint Museums, is a cultural institution comprising two museums, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Mint Museum Randolph and Mint Museum Uptown, together these two locations have hundreds of collecti ...

Uptown, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, 2012 * ''Dubh / Dialogues In Black,''

, New York, USA, 2011 * ''MATERIALpoetry'',

, New York, USA, 2010 * ''Irish Craft Portfolio 2010'', National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland, 2010

Permanent collections

* Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France *

The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the third-largest museum in the world and the largest art museum in the Americas. With 5.36 million v ...

, New York, USA *

, Dublin, Ireland *

, Japan *

, New York, USA *

, Paris, France *

, New York, USA * The Mint Museum of Craft & Design, Charlotte, North Caroline, USA * The National Museum of Ireland - Decorative Arts & History, Dublin, Ireland * Devonshire Collection,

, Chatsworth, UK *

Ulster Museum The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures ...

, Ireland * Embassy of Japan, Dublin, Ireland * Private collection, Mumbai, India * Sacred Heart Church, Minane Bridge, Ireland

Critical reception

Ayesha Sohail Shehmir Shaikh, "Design Miami/Basel 2019: Highlights From The Collectible Design Fair", June 11, 2019 "Elemental Design",

Aesthetica ''Aesthetica Magazine'' is a publication focusing on art and culture. Established in 2002, the magazine provides bi-monthly coverage of contemporary art across various disciplines, including visual arts, photography, architecture, fashion, an ...

, 23 May 2019 Mozez Singh, "This incredible cottage perched on Mumbai’s Juhu Beach speaks volumes with its design",

Architectural Digest ''Architectural Digest'' (stylized in all caps) is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920. Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast ...

, January 14, 2019 Mitchell Owens, "HOT SEATS",

, March 2018 Mitchell Owens, "Joseph Walsh Gives Derbyshire Palace A Modern Update", Architecture + Design, February 27, 2018 Raul Barrenche, "The Magical World of Joseph Walsh’s Wood Furnishings", Galerie, Winter 2017 ''Mirror Mirror: Reflections on Design'' at

, 2023

References

* Flegg, Eleanor, Frances McDonald, and Luke Butler. “Design: Portfolio.” Irish Arts Review (2002-) 35, no. 4 (2018): 62–70
Design: Portfolio
* McBrinn, Joseph. “A Quiet Renaissance: Contemporary Irish Craft and Design.” Irish Arts Review (2002-) 26, no. 2 (2009): 112–15
A quiet renaissance: contemporary Irish craft and design
"Joseph Walsh Studio- Limited Edition", (Ireland; Cork, Joseph Walsh Studio, 2020)

External links

The Dommus Collection by Joseph Walsh Studio features limited edition furniture pieces. 20 January 2018. Retrieved 14 February 2022
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Joseph Living people 1979 births Irish designers Furniture makers Artists from County Cork