Joseph Walsh Biography

Joseph Walsh is an Irish Designer and Maker whose work reflects his passion for expression through material and form. From monumental scale sculptures to one-of-a-kind site-specific commissions, every piece within his body of work reveals an intuitive relationship with making, a sympathetic use of materials and an expressive engagement with form.

Joseph Walsh was born in County Cork on the south coast of Ireland where he established his own studio and workshop in 1999 and remains based today. With no formal training, he began to explore his passion for making, visiting master makers around Europe, and developing his own mastery of wood working and deep knowledge of the material. From the outset, he pursued innovation in making based on traditional techniques, often from other craft forms, which enabled new making methods and forms. This led to significant early commissions for various ecclesiastical clients, the Embassy of Japan and the National Museum of Ireland.

From these early years of experimentation and development, Joseph Walsh began to break some of the traditional rules of making, and even his own rules, in order to create the truly bold and expressive forms for which he is known today, realised in an ever-widening range of materials, including wood, marble and bronze. His achievements in design have been recognised by an honorary doctorate from University College Cork, a major commission for the National Gallery of Ireland and the acquisition of works for many major international collections, including most recently the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

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Permanent Collections

  • Metropolitan Museum Of Art

    New York, USA

  • Centre Pompidou

    Paris, France

  • Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum

    New York, USA

  • National Gallery of Ireland

    Dublin, Ireland

  • National Museum of Ireland, Decorative Arts & History Collection

    Dublin, Ireland

  • Mint Museum of Craft & Design

    North Carolina, USA

  • Museum of Arts and Design

    New York, USA

  • The Devonshire Collection, Chatsworth House

    Derbyshire, United Kingdom

  • DaLisca Family Church

    Verona, Italy

  • Embassy of Japan

    Dublin, Ireland

  • Tsubaki Grand Shrine

    Suzuka, Japan

  • Sacred Heart Church

    Minane Bridge, Ireland

Solo Exhibitions

  • 2022

    • Joseph Walsh, Gestures, London 2022

      Sotheby's, London, UK

  • 2018

    • RINN

      A Lighthouse Called Kanata Gallery, Sogetsu Arts Centre, Japan

  • 2017

    • Joseph Walsh Exhibition

      A Lighthouse Called Kanata Gallery, Tsubaki Shrine, Japan

    • Reveal

      American Irish Historical Society, New York, USA

  • 2014

    • Solo Exhibition

      The Roche Court Educational Trust, New Art Centre, UK

    • Lilium

      Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin, Ireland

  • 2011

    • ENIGNUM & Other Stories

      Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin, Ireland

  • 2008

    • Realisations

      American Irish Historical Society, New York, USA

Selected Group Exhibitions

  • 2023

    • Design At Large

      Design Miami/ Podium x Shanghai, Shanghai, China

    • Mirror Mirror: Reflections on Design at Chatsworth

      Chatsworth House, Chatsworth, UK

  • 2022

    • Design At Large

      Design Miami/ Basel, Basel, Switzerland

    • Living With Art We Love

      Chatsworth House, Chatsworth, UK

    • Mimèsis. Un design vivant

      Centre Pompidou-Metz, Metz, France

  • 2021

    • Design at Large

      Design Miami/ Basel, Basel, Switzerland

    • Design Miami/ Podium x Shanghai

      Shanghai, China

  • 2020

    • Curio

      Design Miami/ , Miami, Florida, USA

    • Centre Pompidou x West Bund

      Shanghai, China

    • West Bund Art Fair

      Shanghai, China

  • 2019

    • Curio

      Design Miami/ , Miami, Florida, USA

    • West Bund Art Fair

      Shanghai, China

    • Design At Large

      Design Miami/ Basel, Basel, Switzerland

  • 2018

    • Earth, Wind and Fire: Made in Cork Contemporary

      Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, Ireland

  • 2017

    • Making|Breaking: New Arrivals

      Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, New York, USA

    • Narratives in Making

      PORTFOLIO: Critical Selection, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland

    • Design Miami/ (Sarah Myerscough Gallery)

      Basel, Switzerland ; Miami, USA

    • Pavillion of Art & Design (Sarah Myerscough Gallery)

      London, UK

    • Salon Art + Design (Sarah Myerscough Gallery)

      New York, USA

  • 2016

    • Master Works

      LongHouse Reserve, East Hampton, New York, USA

    • Royal Academy Summer Exhibition

      London, UK

    • In Residence II

      Oliver Sears Gallery, London, UK

    • Design Miami/ (Sarah Myerscough Gallery)

      Basel, Switzerland ; Miami, USA

    • Pavillion of Art & Design (Sarah Myerscough Gallery)

      London, UK

    • Salon Art + Design (Sarah Myerscough Gallery)

      New York, USA

  • 2015

    • Crafted: Objects In Flux

      Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA

    • Make Yourself Comfortable at Chatsworth

      Chatsworth House, Chatsworth, UK

    • Side by Side

      PORTFOLIO: Critical Selection, National Design & Craft Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland ; Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris, France ; ID2015 Design Hub at the Coach House, Dublin Castle, Dublin, Ireland

    • In Residence I

      Oliver Sears Gallery, London, UK

  • 2014

    • Design Show: Joseph Walsh, Daniel Naude and Johannes Nagel

      Artist House, The Roche Court Educational Trust, New Art Centre, UK

    • Collective 2

      Skylight at Moynihan Station, NY, USA

    • FOG: Design & Art

      Fort Mason Festival Pavilion, San Francisco, USA

    • Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art and Craft

      Bellevue Arts Museum, Washington, USA

  • 2013

    • Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art and Craft

      Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

    • Cheongju International Craft Biennale

      Cheongju, South Korea

    • Modern Makers

      Chatsworth House, Chatsworth, UK

    • COLLECT

      Claire Beck at Adrian Sassoon, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK

    • Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art and Craft

      Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA

  • 2012

    • Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art and Craft

      Mint Museum Uptown, Charlotte, North, Carolina, USA

    • COLLECT

      Claire Beck at Adrian Sassoon, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK

    • Salone del Mobile (Nilufar Gallery)

      Palazzo Durini, Milan, Italy

    • Wallpaper Handmade

      Palazzo Brioni, Milan, Italy

    • Design Days Dubai (Nilufar Gallery)

      Dubai, UAE

    • Dubh / Dialogues In Black

      Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin, Ireland

  • 2011

    • SuperDesign

      Nilufar Gallery, The Dairy, London, UK

    • Black & White

      Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin, Ireland

    • Dubh / Dialogues In Black

      American Irish Historical Society, New York, USA

    • Design Miami/ Basel (Nilufar Gallery)

      Basel, Switzerland

    • Pavillon des Art et du Design (Nilufar Gallery)

      Paris, France

    • Salone del Mobile (Nilufar Gallery)

      Palazzo Durini, Milan, Italy

    • COLLECT

      Claire Beck at Adrian Sassoon, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK

  • 2010

    • MATERIALpoetry

      American Irish Historical Society, New York, USA

    • Irish Craft Portfolio 2010

      National Design & Craft Gallery, Killkenny, Ireland

    • Pavillion of Art & Design (Todd Merrill Studio)

      London, UK

    • Design Miami/ (Todd Merrill Studio)

      Miami, Florida, USA

  • 2009

    • Pavilion of Art & Design (Todd Merrill Studio)

      London, UK

    • Grassimesse

      GRASSImuseum, Leipzig, Germany

    • Design Miami/ Basel (Cristina Grajales Gallery)

      Basel, Switzerland

  • 2008

    • SOFA

      The National Craft Gallery, Chicago, USA

    • Ecology, Mythology, Technology

      Farmleigh House, Dublin, Ireland

Lectures & Talks

  • 2022

    • The Science of Making

      Mint Museum Uptown, Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

  • 2020

    • Design in Dialogue #39: Joseph Walsh

      Digital

  • 2018

    • Earth, Wind and Fire: Made in Cork Contemporary

      Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, Ireland

  • 2017

    • The Making & Mastery of ‘Magnus Modus’

      National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland

    • Crafting the Contemporary

      New York School of Interior Design, New York, USA

  • 2015

    • Art Out Loud: Literary Festival

      Chatsworth House, Chatsworth, UK

    • A dialogue in Making: Joseph Walsh and Keisuke Kawai Master Maker

      The Embassy of Ireland, Tokyo, Japan

  • 2012

    • Joseph Walsh: In Conversation

      Mint Museum Uptown, Charlotte, North, Carolina, USA

  • 2009

    • Realisations: A Reflection on 10 Years of Making

      The National Museum of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland

  • 2008

    • Materiality and Construction

      Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, Boston, USA

Awards & Recognition

  • 2020

    • Jack Lenor Larsen Award

      Winter Benefit, LongHouse Reserve, Hearst Tower, New York

  • 2017

    • Cultural Award

      American Irish Historical Society, New York, USA

    • Award of the Commissioning of 'Magnus Modus'

      On the occasion of the reopening of the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

  • 2015

    • Honorary Degree of Doctor of Arts

      University College Cork, Cork, Ireland