Ireland Glass Biennale 2023 is an exhibition of work from some of the world’s most innovative glass artists, designers and craft practitioners.
Through showcasing the excellence of contemporary glass practice, the Irish Glass Biennale aspires to further the public’s understanding of the creative potential of glass and to act as a catalyst for cultural activities which centre around glass. The exhibition will be on show in the Coach House Gallery, Dublin Castle from 28 April to 20 August 2023.
Birgit Pählapuu holds both a master’s degree (2016) and a bachelor’s degree (2010) from the Estonian Academy of Arts in glass art, in addition, she studied at the Prague Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design (2008) and obtained a bachelor’s degree (2002) in international business management from the Estonian Business School. She has participated in master classes of lampworking and courses in videography, etching, and glass fusing in Estonia, Finland, and Italy. Pählapuu has participated in domestic and foreign exhibitions since 2008 and has organized exhibitions since 2017. In 2007, she was awarded a creative scholarship named Maks Roosma and since 2010 she has been a member of the Estonian Association of Glass Artists. In addition to his personal career as an artist, Pählapuu is one of the founders and leaders of the Okapi Gallery, thus contributing to the promotion and development of the work of her colleagues. Although Pählapuu is primarily a glass artist, her work is closely intertwined with photography and installation.
Piret Ellamaa is a glass artist for whom making art is a way to escape from the superficial everyday life to a deeper way of being. Keywords process and presence describe Ellamaa’s working methods and creation in the best way. Her subject matters usually come from the subconscious mind right before falling asleep and develop into works of art in a long period of time. For her the work process provides an opportunity to be truly present and that is at best later transmitted to the viewer.
Ireland Glass Biennale is co-funded by the NCAD and Creative Europe as part of a Creative Europe project: Imagining Sustainable Glass Network Europe (ISGNE). The EU funded project includes four partners in the UK, Germany, Latvia and Ireland, and engages with thirty-three associated organisations in nineteen European countries.