Andrea Barron & Kate O’Kelly

A tactile dialogue where material memory meets monumental gesture. 

CUT & CAST brings together two distinct makers,each exploring the expressive potential of material through form, fracture, and surface.

Presented on campus at MTU Gallery at 46 Grand Parade, this exhibition features the work of one current and one retired staff member from Crawford College of Art & Design.

The project by Kate O’Kelly and Andrea Barron celebrates the transmission of craft knowledge, highlighting the enduring value of skill-sharing, mentorship,and material exploration in the field of ceramics.

Through a selection of materials and processes the exhibition will reflecton how traditional techniques are preserved and adapted.

Both artists share a deep commitment to the preservation of ceramic skills and the importance of hands - on learning within art education.Their practices are rooted in a respect for material processes and a belief in the power of making as a form of knowledge transfer.

About Artists

Andrea Barron |

Bio

Andrea Barron is an Irish ceramicist and educator whose creative practice has evolved from a background in nursing to a deep engagement with material arts. After dedicating twelve years to nursing, Andrea discovered a passion for ceramics through a night class that inspired her to pursue formal training. She went on to serve as the Technical Officer for both ceramic and glass workshops at the MTU Crawford College of Art & Design, where she played a vital role in supporting students and fostering an environment of technical excellence and creative inquiry.

Andrea’s artistic practice is defined by an ongoing exploration of the dynamics of fracture and transformation within ceramics materials. Her work investigates the nuanced relationship between the inherent properties of clay and glaze, focusing on how the character of a surface is shaped by physical processes, stresses, and interventions. Each piece reflects a dialogue between control and chance, where the interaction of glazes with fractured surfaces creates unique visual and tactile experiences.

Artist Statement

My work examines the forces that fracture and transformation in the materials I use, seeking to reveal how surfaces and reshaped and redefined through these processes. I am continually drawn to the way glazes respond to the unpredictable lines and textures produced by cracking and breaking, and I use these interactions to create pieces that invite closer inspection and contemplation. Through my work in ceramics, I aim to evoke a sense of resilience and adaptation, echoing the ways materials – and people – respond to external pressures and internal change. Each object offers a reflection on the beauty and complexity found in imperfection and the unexpected outcomes that arise through making.

Kate O’Kelly |

Bio

Kate O’Kelly is an Irish based maker, working primarily with ceramics, slip casting and model making.

In 2013 O’Kelly completed a Master’s through Research in Design, specialising in Ceramics at the National College of Art and Design.

Awards include a Future Makers Innovation award, Future Maker Practitioner award in 2014, the Golden Fleece Merit prize in 2015 and the RDS Craft Awards, Emerging Maker, Ceramics Category winner 2017. In 2018 She represented Ireland at the European Ceramics Context Biennial in Bornholm, Denmark.

Kate currently works as an assistant lecturer at MTU Crawford College of Art & Design, Cork.

Artist Statement

This new body of work continues my exploration into how architectural forms shape our inner worlds, how the built environment becomes embedded in memory, imagination, and the subconscious. Developed in response to the urban landscape of Cork City, the work draws on its layered architecture, from Georgian ornamentation to industrial piping, from decorative plasterwork to utilitarian structures.

Working primarily with clay, model making, and industrial mould-making processes, I create objects that feel like hybrid relics, sitting somewhere between the familiar and the unknown. These forms are not direct representations, but playful reinterpretations of architectural details. They reflect a city reimagined through personal experience, where fragments of buildings become carriers of emotion and memory.

Throughout this series, I’ve focused on scale and material play by shifting proportions, combining textures, and experimenting with how forms interact. The sculptures are intended to feel like glimpses into an internal landscape, shaped by both the physical world and the imaginative one.

As with previous projects, I’m interested in how objects and environments hold meaning, how they become part of our identity and emotional vocabulary.

Artist Contact Details inquiries:

Instagram – @andreabarron43

Instagram – @kate_okelly_artist

Close up of the work by Andrea Barron