Of Sand and Ash

This exhibition tells the story of glass in Ireland today through material, process and the distinct voices of its makers.

Featuring works by members of the Glass Society of Ireland representing contemporary Irish glass practice at home and abroad.

About the Exhibition

Glass is a material shaped by process.

Made from sand, ash, minerals, and extreme heat, glass is born through transformation. Liquid and solid at once, it has carried human stories forthousands of years through vessels, windows, lenses, objects and architecture.

Of Sand and Ash explores the story of glass in Ireland today through the artists who shape it, challenge it and continually redefine its possibilities. Bringing together Irish makers from across the island and abroad, the exhibition reflects the breadth of contemporary glass practice through blown, cast, kiln-formed, engraved and a wide range of sculptural works.

Throughout the exhibition, glass is approached not only as a medium, but as a language of light, heat, labour and transformation. Some works draw on ancient techniques and traditions of making, while others push glass into experimental, sculptural and interdisciplinary territories.

Structured in chapters that move through process, making and transformation,the exhibition traces visual references to the tools, gestures and environments of glass practice, from furnace heat and molten movement to grinding, polishing, casting and light itself.

From molten glass to finished form, the works in Of Sand and Ash reveal the continuing evolution of glass in Ireland today through process, experimentation and the distinct voices of its makers.