Finola Finlay visits a number of churches enriched by stained-glass artist George Walsh and asks why this medium is not used more widely in secular architecture
George Walsh is a living link with the great tradition of stained glass of the first half of the 20th century, while remaining grounded in his own practice of modernist sacred and secular art. George’s father, George Stephen Walsh (GS Walsh), was apprenticed to Harry Clarke and worked in his studio for several years. One of GS Walsh’s apprentice pieces shows how thoroughly he was trained to faithfully reproduce the Clarke style, which was vital as Clarke’s health deteriorated and the demand for his work increased. GS Walsh eventually moved to Clokey of Belfast, a busy studio in need of a designer with a more contemporary style. Here George served his apprenticeship under his father, attending the Belfast College of Art concurrently.
Research into theoretical principles across the fields of art, science and aesthetics imbue Nuala O’Donovan’s work, writes Mark Ewart
Eamonn Doyle’s portraits of Dubliners are unposed, untroubled by vanity and full of momentum, writes Stephanie McBride
