We are pleased to announce the upcoming solo exhibition of the Irish designer Joseph Walsh, presenting new works in the Formations & Layering concept. This will be the first occasion for the public to see together a large body of recent work in the Enignum, Erosion and Equinox series, created in the past year.

The pieces are mainly functional, but some of them are sculptural works, all exploring different forms of layering. The show will include two large dining tables, over three meters long each, a number of Enignum sculptural chairs, smaller Erosion tables and wall mounted Equinox panels. The pieces combine ash with other materials such as copper, glass, copper leaf, silk and a woven copper textile.

The particularity of the Enignum series lies in the material and the making process. While furniture design in its classical sense means designing and then proceeding to make, the pieces of Joseph Walsh follow a different path. He creates free form compositions using the properties and elasticity of the material, resulting in radical but very fluid and essential works, that one could qualify not only as a piece of furniture but sculpture, artwork at the same time. The title ‘Enignum’, deriving from the Latin words Enigma (mystery) and Lignum (wood), sums up the series: the mystery of the composition lies in the material. “Enignum – and other stories brings together a collection of works whose inception began two

years ago. Using free form design allows the material to dictate the composition. Combined with an expert understanding of his subject, the results are wondrous. Tables, chairs, entire walls that don’t just straddle the universes of art, architecture and function but unify them into a beautiful equation.The principal material is ash, its properties combine both strength and flexibility. Interwoven plates of copper, fine meshes of coated wire and carbon fibre are also integrated into several works. To see these objects is like seeing something for the very first time. A new design language has been constructed and Joseph Walsh is the author.” Oliver Sears, Founder of the Oliver Sears Gallery, Dublin.

Formations & Layering

The natural world around us consists of layers and these layers record time. In this concept I want to explore layering in the natural world around us, how these layers have recorded time and how time has shaped them.