Solo Exhibition
10 February - 16 March 2024
"Beautifully crafted and highly technical, Walsh creates sublime encounters in glass and ceramic that have long captivated me. From her jewel-like Faceted Boxes to her Contained Boxes and their secret interior elements, these works encourage engagement, drawing you in to discover them intimately, whilst also exuding a sense of calmness and contentment with their very presence. This I feel, not only reflects the gentleness of the artist herself but also creates a perception of Walsh as a contemporary alchemist. Mixing the complementary properties of the materials she employs, with both environmental and interpersonal reflections of light and shade, to create works that both enrich and enliven our lives.
For over twenty years, Walsh has perfected how she captures the transient qualities of light through her sumptuous vessel forms. Following two years of research and development, which allowed her to concentrate on exploring the plasticity and varied surface possibilities of glass, she now presents a new body of work as she describes “that speak of softness, [have a] sense of softness, sense of tactility”. In this new series of vessels and wall pieces, we see Walsh continuing her consideration of containers as transmitters of preciousness alongside echoes of her earliest explorations in glass, where pooled glass seemingly radiates out beyond its confines to be glimpsed by the passing observer. Seen in isolation or as a group, these ovoid vessels and forms are not passive in their modest decorativeness. There is a sensuality and richness to these works, from the quality of the cast glass surface finishes and the incorporation of metals to the relationship they have with each other. In the fluidity of the glass interiors and the metallic and gloss surfaces of her wall pieces, one feels that she has captured the plasticity of the moment when glass is alive with heat and light before it cools and is contained, retaining that fleeting moment of softness and possibility.
This new series by Walsh is both classical and modern in conception. Both are works of art, and architecture where conversations are elicited from the compositions she has created for the exhibition. They call out to be admired, and as always with her work, to be cherished and desired."
Sarah Rothwell
Senior Curator, Modern & Contemporary Design
National Museums Scotland
(catalogue text)
Supported by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland.
Photos: Shannon Tofts and Jake Ovington