BERNIE LEAHY
TEXTILE ARTIST
Bernie Leahy has been making fine craft drawings for over 10 years. Working from her studio in north Co. Dublin, Ireland she creates large stitched drawings using a combination of hand and machine stitching, applied directly to the unmarked canvas.
The economy of the mark is essential to the success of each piece, which is preceded by an extensive series of drawing studies on paper. The resultant pieces look remarkably like pen and ink drawings but have a rich depth and a uniquely textured surface indicative of the many hours of work spent building up the thread layers. Her drawings usually explore and record a fragment of the human figure, often conveying a fleeting moment in time and the emotions therein. Each drawing is a unique piece but she also works in series capturing a micro-expression or feeling in deft thread strokes. Leahy has exhibited widely in Ireland and internationally; in 2010 her work was exhibited at SOFA, New York, USA and also selected to represent Ireland in the International Fiberart Biennial 2010, Philadelphia, USA . Her work is featured in many private and public collections both in Ireland and internationally, including the Office of Public Works Collection, Dublin, Ireland.
The Narrative Line, a two-person exhibition with Alice Kettle, toured to the National Craft Gallery, Ireland in 2010 and Island Arts Centre, Lisburn, Northern Ireland, in 2011. Leahy was the winner of the Crafts Council of Ireland Irish Craft Bursary Merit Award in 2008.
through exhibitions nationally
and internationally.
Image 2: Tempting. Stitching on unbleached canvas. 1.82m x 1.97m (H x W).