BERNIE LEAHY @BernieLeahyArt works from her studio in North County Dublin, Ireland,

making wall mounted artworks of the human form - portraits, drawings, paintings and sculpture with stitch.

PUBLIC COMMISSIONS & COLLECTIONS

OPW, Dublin
Mason, Hayes & Curran Legal www.mhc.ie
Department of Education & Science
Fingal County Council
Kildare County Council
Quaker Museum, Kildare
Waterford Institute of Education
Waterford Hospital
Muckamore Abbey Hospital, Co Antrim, N&W Belfast HSS

Northern Ireland Arts Council

SELECTED AWARDS

2024 // International Excellence in Fibers USA, FiberArt Now. 2023 // International Fiberart Biennale, Colorado. 2022 // International Fiberart Biennale, Pittsburgh. 2018 External Exhibitions Award, Design & Crafts Council of Ireland // 2007 High Profile Award, Standard Setter, Irish Arts Review Magazine // 2008 Design & Crafts Council of Ireland Merit Award Bursary // 2004 RDS William Smith O’Brien Award // 2004 RDS 1st Prize Contemporary Embroidery Award

COLLECTIONS: Her work is held in numerous private and public collections in Ireland, UK and USA. Leahy has exhibited extensively internationally, and is honoured to represent Ireland again in Colorado, USA for Fiberart International 2023.

She represented Ireland in the Fiberart International 2022 Biennale in Pittsburgh. In 2018, her SOLO exhibition was mounted at the Irish Arts Center, New York (supported by the DCCOI External Exhibition Award).

In 2019, she was honoured to be selected as one of 100 Irish Women Artists for the Kildare County Council exhibition. Selected exhibitions include Venezuela, SOFA Chicago, SOFA New York, Fiberart Biennale Philadelphia, Bluecoat Gallery, UK.

She has presented her work at Parsons College New York, for the Fiberart MA Symposium as part of New York Textile Month, 2018, for Li Edelkoort. At home in Ireland, she has shown numerous times in our beautiful National Craft Gallery in Kilkenny and Farmleigh, with the Design and Craft Council of Ireland.

MATERIAL EXPLORATION: .

The human anatomy is central to her work, often presented in fragments and in layers. Portraits are made with acrylic and stitch on canvas and linen. Small sculptures use contrasting materials including bronze, plaster, gold and uncut diamonds with stitched elements.

PROCESS: Drawing directly from life models, she composes her drawn studies creating delicate and textural compositions, which explore themes of connectivity and protection.

She graduated from from NCAD and IADT.

CURRENT STUDIO PRACTICE: Drawing of the human form, merged with exploring colour and pattern in stitch with mixed media. The wearable artworks continues to explore a wide range materials exploration, where each piece is one of a kind.