Limerick artist features at prestigious London exhibition

The work of a Limerick artist will be part of a prestigious exhibition in London.

Noel Donnellan's work will be exhibited in London this week for London Craft Week at Cromwell Place, until May 19.

Co-created with Mike Byrne, the art piece is part of an exhibition presented by The Michelangelo Foundation for Creative and Craftsmanship, which is dedicated to the participants of the first edition of the Homo Faber Fellowship - a programme designed for duos of master artisans and craft graduates.

Noel Donnellan is a multi-skilled artist specialising in sculpture, gilding, gold leaf and painted decoration.

The Limerick native left mechanical engineering to become an artist. 

"I just felt that there was something inside me that kind of wanted to come out and I started doing oil painting on canvas at home. I found an academic institute in Brussels, and it's the number one school in the world for decorative painting and I did that for six months," explains Noel.

After leaving the company Pigmentti, Noel recently started a new studio practice, the culmination of a two-year journey of self-discovery and creativity.

"It sparked a quest to redefine my craft, fueled by a passion to push boundaries and explore new artistic horizons," he said.

One of the catalysts of his "rebirth"? Andy Warhol.

"I watched the Andy Warhol movie on Netflix and I just fell in love again with the art world. So I decided to set up my own home based studio in our home, in an old farmhouse cottage."

Speaking of his partnership with Mark Byrne, he said: "Myself and Mike worked together, he is absolutely brilliant. I loved his language, he is very direct and it was like all the dots connected for me. We made quite a number of pieces and I could see the evolution of my work and the confidence that I began to gather in myself as an artist and under Mike's stewardship was great."

Noel added: "The Michelangelo Foundation is not just a course that you do as a hobby, they want you to be commercially viable. And that's my main goal. I want to support my family from this work full-time. I have no interest in being a part-time artist."

There is one thing Noel hopes people will take away from his piece, exhibited in London. 

"I'd hope they would see something of beauty. Then, that they would see that it's handcrafted, the contrasts in the colour, in the interior, the attention to detail."

"It's very precise, um, and it's not machine done. It's all done by hand, and it's done out of passion. I've worked on these for quite a long time, and I would like people to come away and see that an Irish person has created."