Liam Flynn
Liam Flynn was a self-taught woodturner based in Abbeyfeale, Co. Limerick. He created distinctive, exquisitely formed hand turned vessels. He worked with unseasoned wood which allowed the forms to change shape as they dried. A keen understanding of the complexities of the materials and how they would dry informed his prediction of the resulting line, surface and tone of the object. Working with oaks, ash and sycamore, Flynn’s focus was always on creating symmetry between the grain pattern and the shape of the vessel.
Selected Exhibitions
2015
Spin, Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin.
Taste Contemporary Craft, Geneva, Switzerland.
Gallery Ten, Edinburgh (4 person group show).
Side by Side, National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland.
2014
Portfolio Selected Works, RHA, Dublin.
Vase, Vessel, Void, represented by Myerscough Gallery.
Five into Four, Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin.
Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh.
2013
Ingrained, Patina Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.
Common Ground, Oxford Ceramics Gallery
SOFA Chicago, represented by Myerscough Gallery.
Future Beauty?, National Craft Gallery.
2012
‘New Works in Wood‘ Solo Exhibition, Beaux Arts, Bath
Design Days Dubai, represented by Sarah Myerscough
Collect, Saatchi Gallery, London
2011
Retrospective and New, Hunt Museum, Limerick
Dubh, American Irish Historical Society, New York
Collect, Saatchi Gallery, London
SOFA NY, represented by Sara Myerscough Fine Art
2010
Material Poetry, American Irish Historical Society, New York.
New Wood Vessels, (solo exhibition) Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh, UK.
Collectors of Wood Art special exhibit, SOFA Chicago.
Turned Wood, Sarah Myescough Fine Art
Irish Craft Portfolio, National Craft Gallery
2009
Wood Willow Paper, Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
Modern Masters, Munich International Trade Fair
Bluecoat Display Centre, In the Window
Vessel, Sarah Myerscough Fine Art
Organic Geometry, National Craft Gallery
2008
Into the Woods, Bamford/ Myerscough Fine Art.
SOFA Chicago, represented by National Craft Gallery/del Mano Gallery
Beautifully Crafted, National Glass Centre, Sunderland, UK
New Masters of Woodturning, Nina Bliese Gallery, Minneapolis MN
Wood Takes Root, St. George Art Museum, Utah
Masterwork – Objets de créateurs européens (organized by World Crafts Council – Europe) Viaduc des Arts , Paris
Collect, V&A Museum London. Represented by Sarah Myerscough Fine Art
Selected Works, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles.
Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Scottsdale AZ, represented by del Mano Gallery.
Turning Wood into Art 2008, Sarah Myerscough Fine Art. London
Select, Grace Barrand Design Centre, Surrey, UK
2007
Side by Side, Hunt Museum,Limerick
SOFA Chicago Represented by National Crafts Gallery/del Mano Gallery
Best of European Contemporary Craft, Luxembourg
Ecology, Mythology and Technology, National Crafts Gallery
Eblana Gallery, Dublin
Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh (solo show)
SOFA New York, Represented by del Mano Gallery
Les Bols d’Exception, Gallerie Terra Viva, France
2006
Carlin Gallery, Paris. (two man show)
Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, California.
Allturnatives Form and Spirit, Woodturning Centre, Philadelphia PA. USA
SOFA Chicago, represented by the National Crafts Gallery, Ireland
Collect, Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Represented by Sarah Myerscough Fine Art.
Select, Grace Barrand Design Centre, Surrey, UK
Turned and Sculpted Wood 2006, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, California.
Swedish – Irish Crafts with a modern twist, Misery Hill Art Gallery, Dublin
Collectors Event, Hunt Museum, Limerick
2005
Small is Beautiful, Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh.
Innovations, Woodturning Centre, Philadelphia PA.
Forty Shades of Green, Glucksman Gallery, Cork. (Crafts Council of Ireland touring exhibition.)
Collect, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, represented by Sarah Myerscough Fine Art
Christmas Design Collection, Roger Billcliffe Gallery, Glasgow
Collectors @ the Hunt Museum, Limerick
Turning Wood into Art 2005, Sarah Myerscough Fine Art, London
Collectors Ireland, Kilkenny Arts Festival
National Crafts Gallery Review 00 – 04, Crafts Council of Ireland, Kilkenny
Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles.
2004
Art Vessels, Plateaux Gallery, London. (Solo Show)
Turned and Sculpted Wood 2004, del Mano Gallery,
Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, ( Guest Artist Program)
Turning around the World 2004, Woodturning Centre, Philadelphia PA.
SOFA Chicago/New York, represented by del Mano Gallery.
Collect. Victoria & Albert Museum, London, represented by Sarah Myerscough.
Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh. (Solo Show)
Turning wood into Art, Sarah Myerscough, London
Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery.
Against the Grain, Grace Barrand Design Centre, Surrey, UK
Connecting with the Vessel, Platform Gallery, Lancashire, UK
Fine Forms, Eigse Carlow Arts Festival
2003
SOFA Chicago, with del Mano Gallery.
Patina Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, USA
Turning around the World, Woodturning Centre, Philadelphia
Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Santa Fe , NM, with del Mano Gallery
Turned Wood 2003, del Mano, Los Angeles.
Selected Works, del Mano, Los Angeles.
Kenwood House Crafts, London
New Ashgate Gallery, Surrey, UK
2002
Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh (solo show)
Formes, Carlin Gallery, Paris
Chelsea Crafts Fair, London
Vessel, Sarah Myerscough Fine Art, London
2001
The National Museum of Ireland
Woodworks, the City Gallery, Leicester, Uk
A Close Shave, Grace Barrand Design Centre, UK
Chelsea Crafts Fair
2000
Sotheby’s Contemporary Decorative Arts, London
Cloud Nine Gallery, Zurich
Kunstlokaal 11, The Netherlands
Wood from the Trees, Whichcraft Gallery, Dublin
Chelsea Crafts Fair
Christmas Present, Shipley Art Gallery, Tyne & Wear
1999
Vessel, Sarah Myerscough Fine Art, London
Carlin Gallery, Paris.
Flow Gallery, London
Chelsea Crafts Fair
Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
20th Century Art Fair, New York, represented by Michael Goedhuis.
1998
Turned Wood Vessels, Dolmen Gallery, Limerick, (Solo Show)
1996
Joining Forces, Oxford Gallery
1995
A Renaissance of Irish Craft, Philadelphia. (Crafts Council of Ireland Exhibition)
1994
Turning to Fibre, Siamsa Tire Gallery, Tralee. (Two man show with Fibre Artist Seamus McGuinness)
1993
Blackened Wood, Oxford Gallery
Taipei International Exhibition of Arts, Taipei
1992
Chelsea Crafts Fair, London
Western Winds, Hitchcocks, Bath, UK
Awards
2005 Inaugural winner, Crafts Council of Ireland Bursary award.
1989 – 91, 1994. 1997-99 and 2001. Royal Dublin Society, First Prize, Turned Wood, National Crafts Competition.
1997 Crafts Council of Ireland Award
1996 California Gold Medal
Residences
2006
Resident Fellow, International Turners Exchange, University of the Arts, Philadelphia PA.
2005
Cill Rialaig , Ballinskelligs, Co. Kerry
Public Collections
Victoria & Albert Museum
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK.
National Museum of Ireland.
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Woodturning Centre, Philadelphia PA.
Limerick City Art Gallery.
Shipley Art Gallery, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear, UK.
Crafts Council of Ireland
Royal Dublin Society
Department of Foreign Affairs Collection
Selected Publications
Liam Flynn Retrospective, Hunt Museum 2011
Conversations with Wood, Minneapolis Institute of Arts 2011
Irish Arts Review, Vol 28 Issue 3, Autumn 2011
New Masters of Woodturning, Fox Chapel Publishing 2008
Ateliers d’Art, no. 63 May/June 2006
Turning Points, Vol 17 no. 2, Winter 2005. Wood Turning Centre Publications
Irish Arts Review, Vol 21 Issue 3, Autumn 2004, 20th Anniversary Edition
500 Wood Bowls