I am now represented by Dolan/Maxwell in Philadelphia. (June 2026)
Born in Dublin, Irish visual artist Nuala Clarke studied Fine Art Painting at the National College of Art and Design, graduating in 1993 before relocating to New York City, where she lived and worked for nearly two decades. During her years in New York, Clarke developed a practice rooted in abstraction, material experimentation, and an ongoing dialogue between landscape and perception.
A pivotal moment in Clarke’s career came in 2007, when she received a fellowship to the Ballinglen Arts Foundation in northwest Mayo. Returning regularly from New York over the following years, she became increasingly influenced by the Atlantic landscape, the close-knit artistic community, and the contemplative pace of rural Ireland. In 2013, she moved permanently to the west of Ireland, where she continues to live and work today.
Clarke’s paintings and multidisciplinary projects explore themes of memory, atmosphere, science, language, and the natural world. Her work often merges abstraction with literary and philosophical references, creating compositions that feel both intuitive and deeply researched. She has collaborated frequently with writer Crystal Gandrud, producing artist books and interdisciplinary publications that combine text and image. Recent projects have drawn inspiration from the writings and scientific experiments of seventeenth-century Irish philosopher and scientist Robert Boyle.
In addition to her studio practice, Clarke sits on the board of the Yeats Society. Her work has been included in exhibitions in Ireland, the United States, and Japan.
I have been enjoying time in the studio making new work...
UPCOMING:
selected for...
Cairde Visual
Cairde Arts Festival, Sligo.
Hyde Bridge Gallery
Sat 04 July to Fri 17 July 2026
Internalum (xvii) 45x35cm Acrylic on board 2019
Cairde Visual
Cairde Arts Festival, Sligo.
Hyde Bridge Gallery
Sat 04 July to Fri 17 July 2026
Internalum (xvii) 45x35cm Acrylic on board 2019
Artist TALK
Skibbereen Arts Festival
WHEN: July 28, 2006, 1:30pm
WHERE: Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre
Spoken WordArt. Curated By Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre
I’ll be talking about my book, Robert Boyle son of the First Earl of Cork, the problem of health and the power of art.
https://irishartistsfilmindex.ie/
PAST
Dublin Gallery Weekend with Claremorris Gallery
COLOUR BEYOND THE PALE
Featuring artists:
Peter Burns • Nuala Clarke • Elizabeth Cope • Budi Gugi • Tim Millen
Curated by Rosemarie Noone
Opened by Patrick Murphy
COLOUR BEYOND THE PALE
Featuring artists:
Peter Burns • Nuala Clarke • Elizabeth Cope • Budi Gugi • Tim Millen
Curated by Rosemarie Noone
Opened by Patrick Murphy
Very pleased that the painting on the right: Dream of a Dream Drawing (ii) (60x60cm acrylic on canvas) was bought by the OPW (Office of Public Works)
I have other artworks in the Irish State Art Collection which are currently installed at the Department of Health, and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in Dublin, and the court services in Tullamore.
I was delighted to be part of Joanna Hopkins short film Palimpsest which launched on International Womens day at The Museum of Country Life as part of the Wilderland project.
We arrived in the dark of the winter solstice to a ring fort in the woods. As Sheela na gig inspired performers, wearing the colours of the land in this special place - Annette, Caroline and I were directed by Joanna in movements in this ancient place.
more details: https://www.joannahopkins.com
We arrived in the dark of the winter solstice to a ring fort in the woods. As Sheela na gig inspired performers, wearing the colours of the land in this special place - Annette, Caroline and I were directed by Joanna in movements in this ancient place.
more details: https://www.joannahopkins.com
Dublin Art Book Fair 2025
04–14 December 2025 at Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, Dublin.
04–14 December 2025 at Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, Dublin.
Irish Moss of a Dead Man’s Skull was at the Dublin Art Book Fair
Dublin Art Book Fair (DABF) is Ireland’s leading art book fair and a centre for contemporary artist books annually produced by Temple Bar Gallery + Studios. It features limited edition books made by artists, designers and independent publishers which can be browsed or bought. Over the ten-day run, DABF produces a free programme of artist workshops, art commissions, book launches, tours, and talks in celebration of the artist book, publishing and artist-run culture.
In 2025, DABF was guest curated by Dr. Selina Guinness, the theme was Flock. Through a selection of talks and nominated books, Guinness examines all things pastoral: humans and beasts; the relational art of shepherding; and the impact of flocks on habitats.
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Dublin Art Book Fair (DABF) is Ireland’s leading art book fair and a centre for contemporary artist books annually produced by Temple Bar Gallery + Studios. It features limited edition books made by artists, designers and independent publishers which can be browsed or bought. Over the ten-day run, DABF produces a free programme of artist workshops, art commissions, book launches, tours, and talks in celebration of the artist book, publishing and artist-run culture.
In 2025, DABF was guest curated by Dr. Selina Guinness, the theme was Flock. Through a selection of talks and nominated books, Guinness examines all things pastoral: humans and beasts; the relational art of shepherding; and the impact of flocks on habitats.
Kwaidan - Tokyo
04.11.2025 – 20.11.2025 / 2025年11月4日（火）～20日（木）
Japan / 日本
Ireland House Tokyo / アイルランドハウス東京
Thanks to the Department of Foreign Affairs I was one of the artists in Tokyo to celebrate the last opening of the travelling exhibition.
Deep gratitude to all involved.
04.11.2025 – 20.11.2025 / 2025年11月4日（火）～20日（木）
Japan / 日本
Ireland House Tokyo / アイルランドハウス東京
Thanks to the Department of Foreign Affairs I was one of the artists in Tokyo to celebrate the last opening of the travelling exhibition.
Deep gratitude to all involved.
selected for
The 2nd Ballinglen Museum of Art Biennial, Ballycastle, Co. Mayo.
Opens August 30 2025.
‘February swims’
80x60 cm acrylic on board, 2025
The 2nd Ballinglen Museum of Art Biennial, Ballycastle, Co. Mayo.
Opens August 30 2025.
‘February swims’
80x60 cm acrylic on board, 2025
Summer 2025 - new studio, new work
An apparition of Colour - balance 35x41" acrylic on canvas 2025
An Apparition of Colour - folded 35x41" acrylic on canvas 2025
COMMISSION
I was most gratified to be commissioned by The Robert Boyle Foundation to represent and honour Robert Boyle.
In lieu of a portrait- as there is no accurate representation of Boyle from the time he was alive - I made abstract paintings to celebrate that which lives on, his words, ideas and methods.
In fruitful and supportive discussions with Jim Malone, (Professor (Emeritus) of Medical Physics and Dean of the School of Medicine at Trinity College/ St James’s Hospital) and others, it was decided that multiple paintings occupy specific spaces, quiet areas of the Medical Library and that they would have a contemplative leaning, an aid to study.
Four site specific paintings now hang at the John Sterne Library at Trinity Medical School, which is on the campus of St James's Hospital in Dublin.
The work also became part of the Trinity Art Collection, which will ensure its care and longevity.
In lieu of a portrait- as there is no accurate representation of Boyle from the time he was alive - I made abstract paintings to celebrate that which lives on, his words, ideas and methods.
In fruitful and supportive discussions with Jim Malone, (Professor (Emeritus) of Medical Physics and Dean of the School of Medicine at Trinity College/ St James’s Hospital) and others, it was decided that multiple paintings occupy specific spaces, quiet areas of the Medical Library and that they would have a contemplative leaning, an aid to study.
Four site specific paintings now hang at the John Sterne Library at Trinity Medical School, which is on the campus of St James's Hospital in Dublin.
The work also became part of the Trinity Art Collection, which will ensure its care and longevity.
Betwixt the Eye and a Clear Light (i - iv)
a picture comes to me in parts through his words
his doublet lined with some silken stuff reflecting colour onto the white cuffs of his linen shirt
his eyes and vitiated sight
the rooms in which he thought
unobstructed space
luminosity, awareness, illuminates
needing a Clear light to see what is betwixt
him
and me
and it...
EXPERIMENT XI.
And here I must not omit, Pyrophilus, to inform You, that we can shew You even in a Mineral Body something that may seem very near of Kin to the Changeable Quality of the Tincture of Lignum Nephriticum, for we have several flat pieces of Glass, of the thickness of ordinary Panes for Windows one of which being interposed betwixt the Eye and a clear Light, appears of a Golden Colour, not much unlike that of the moderate Tincture of our Wood, but being so look'd upon as that the Beams of light are not so much Trajected thorough it as Reflected from it to the Eye, that Yellow seems to degenerate into a pale Blew, somewhat like that of a Turquoise. And what which may also appear strange, is this, [pg 217]that if in a certain posture you hold one of these Plates Perpendicular to the Horizon, so that the Sun-beams shine upon half of it, the other half being Shaded, You may see that the part Shin'd upon will be of a much Diluter Yellow than the Shaded part which will appear much more Richly Colour'd;...Experiments and Considerations Touching Colours, Robert Boyle, 1664.
