Interiors

Artist Niamh Barry at home: “Bed is my happiest place to be”

Pieces of Me: Lighting sculptor is at her most creative when it’s lights-out time

Lighting designer Niamh Barry at home in Clontarf, Dublin. “My bed is quite high and has a lovely view of trees and rooftops.” Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Deirdre McQuillan's face
Deirdre McQuillan
Sat May 6 2017 - 00:05

An international Irish artist who sculpts with light and metal, Niamh Barry has won worldwide acclaim for her work, with its sinuous forms and innovative use of LED lighting and glass. She has exhibited widely in New York, San Francisco, Mexico, Switzerland, London and Dublin, and a book about her work was recently published by Todd Merrill Studio, her gallery in New York. A graduate of NCAD, she established her studio in Dublin in 1991 using materials that included aluminium, porcelain, wood, steel and bronze, though her recent work has been mainly in patinated bronze and glass.

Her freeform light sculptures start with hand-drawn sketches that are painstakingly realised manually using skilled craft techniques that include cutting, welding and sanding to mirror polishing and patination. Her first public sculpture in Ireland (inspired by the 3,000-year-old gold Broighter boat in the National Museum), was installed in the Central Bank in December, and she is currently completing commissions for private clients in Paris, the US, Switzerland, Kuwait and Canada. Though she works from a studio in north Dublin, she lives in the city with her husband and two teenage daughters.

Large owl by Curtis Jere. Small owl is from Mexico. “They were both presents from my husband Killian,” says Barry. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Describe your interiors style

It is constantly evolving, layered and born out of real life and over time. I would not try to emulate any particular style– what is important is that it is an expression of our life, and the objects that surround us express who we are and tell the story of the life we have lived to date. It’s not a showhouse, but a home. I think the most interesting houses are not stage sets and trendy, but where people have evolved over time.

View of Bordeaux by Denise Bonvallet: “It has real depth and I get lost in it,” says Barry. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

What room do you most enjoy?

Most definitely my bedroom – I love my bed which is my happiest place to be. It is quite high and has a lovely view of trees and rooftops – a long view west, and so you get beautiful light in the evening time. My most creative time is when I am about to go to sleep and I look forward to that moment after the end of a long day – and keep a notebook on a table by my side.

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What items do you love most?

The model for the Central Bank light sculpture. I look at it all the time – the sculpture itself took a year to make. I have two paintings that I love – one by the Irish artist Blaise Smith called Pistol, part of his Weapons series, and another by the French painter Denise Bonvallet which is a landscape of Bordeaux. I look at it from across the kitchen where it hangs. It has real depth and I get lost in it.

Pistol by Blaise Smith, in the home of lighting designer Niamh Barry in Clontarf, Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Who is your favourite designer?

I don’t have a favourite designer, but I just think that Alexander McQueen was an incredible talent whose clothes were second only to his artistry. I like the way that he drew on such rich textures that were incredibly well constructed. He was the perfect combination of vision and skill with the craftsmanship to bring his ideas to fruition.

What artists do you most admire?

I really admire Les Lalanne, the husband and wife team who work in bronze. I discovered their work through the catalogue for the Yves St Laurent auction at Christie’s in 2009. The work is imaginative, playful and technically very beautiful, with refined surface textures and a real freedom of spirit. There’s truth in it and, as I am instinctive in the way I work and not drawn to things that are overly conceptual, I am drawn to work that is similar.

Love Lamps by Willy Rizzo in Niamh Barry’s home in Clontarf, Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Biggest interior turn-off?

Hands down, bad lighting. You kill an interior with bad lighting. Lighting is the most important aspect of any interior and even a modest space with beautiful lighting can be incredible. There is a reason why people want light and it is inexcusable to have bad lighting in my book, and it is a shame that people don’t get it right. I hate bad lighting in restaurants. In my own work I am always striving towards the correct colour ambience and temperature of light. With LED lighting it is important to know the colour temperature and the best is 2,700 Kelvin. I go to Barry Doran in Euro Sales in Glasnevin, who is brilliant.

Wall sculpture by American artist Curtis Jere at lighting sculptor Niamh Barry’s home in Clontarf, Dublin. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill

Travel destination that stands out?

Donegal. From a scenic point of view it is world class – and there is a view from the Downings in Donegal which is stunning and looks across Sheephaven Bay which always takes my breath away. I love Ireland in all weathers and grew up in the Dublin mountains.

If you had €100,000 to spend on anything for the house, what would that be?

A William Scott painting.