You can email me if you would like to collaborate, have an idea, would like to know more about my work or simply want to say hello.

karcahill@gmail.com

I love creating bespoke pieces, especially in response to a specific location or colour or season. If you have any ideas, and would like a consultation for your home, office or special space.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Kari Cahill is an Irish artist, primarily working within the fields of expanded painting and site-responsive art. Kari’s artistic practice contributes to the development of new perspectives on our natural, elemental and geologic landscape. She is Ireland’s leading pigment forager. Synthesizing natural materials into paint, pigment, and inks forms the backbone of her process-based practice. More recently her interest in colour production has expanded to focus on mineralogical oxidisation processes that are activated by harnessing solar energy to create new, experimental colour pallets for use in her paintings and three dimensional artworks.

Kari's paintings are characterized as gestural and experimental, rooted in an attempt to capture the essential aspects of color, texture, and emotions found in landscapes. Rather than being grounded in representation, her imagery responds to the more visceral and emotional aspects of a site. Visually, Kari creates bold, gestural works that blur the line between two and three dimensions. She drips, scrapes, bruises and blushes colour onto surfaces. She responds to landscape through drawing, painting and sculpture, and allows the elemental forces at play in the natural landscape, such as tide, wind and sun, to interact with her work.

BIOGRAPHY

Kari has exhibited her work extensively in Ireland, most often in wild natural landscapes along the West Coast (Calafort 2019, Tombolo 16-19, Silva 18, West Cork), as well as internationally in Japan (Kanreki, 2021), France (IRL, 2012), and Brazil (Selvagem, 2019). She was awarded The Art’s Council of Ireland’s Project Award 2021 and the 2020 Visual Arts Bursary from the Arts Council, which enabled her to develop a large outdoor artwork painted directly onto the coastal landscape of the Northwest and a collaborative, site-responsive book exploring colour, knowledge, and landscape. Upcoming exhibitions include a solo show at TULCA 24, Galway, Ireland, and a group show at Gallery 126, Galway. Kari recently exhibited a body of work at her solo show ‘Where we collide’ at The Hyde Bridge Sligo, 2021. Her recent exhibitions include Parklife: Biodiversity in Contemporary Irish Art, curated by the Glucksman curatorial team in association with University College Cork’s Environmental Research Institute. Kari is the Co-Creative Director of projects Lay of the Land (2016 - present), and The Earth Spun Light (2022- present).

Kari’s recent involvements include presentations at Paípear (Hang Tough Contemporary, 2022), Cairde Visual (Sligo, 2022), Timpeallacht (Skibereen Arts Festival, 2022), Far in Far out (Cairde Arts Festival, Sligo, 2021), Are we there yet! (Hawkswell Theatre, Sligo, 2021), Tidelines (Tread Softly Arts Festival, Sligo, 2021), and Materials Matter (VISUAL Carlow, 2021). Kari has also delivered workshops on foraging and pigment processing to various groups through local council-funded engagement programs. Kari is a member of Wild Pigment People, an international organization dedicated to pigment promotion and education. She is also the Co-Director and Co-Founder of Lay of the Land (LOTL), a site-responsive arts organization producing residencies and public art exhibitions in wild locations around Ireland. LOTL challenges artists and audiences by making art more accessible and integrated into communities and landscapes, supporting artists to create informed artworks of quality and depth demanded by the magnitude of their surrounding landscapes. Between 2016 and 2019, Kari delivered 9 large-scale site-responsive projects across 6 distinct and challenging sites, funded through the Arts Council, Cork County Council, and Creative Ireland. A documentary following the 'Silva 18' project screened at The Guesthouse, Cork, and at Segunda Segunda, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Kari also has experience in setting up not-for-profit art spaces, having founded Basic Space while studying Fine Art at the National College of Art and Design. Kari set up residency programs and curated high-quality exhibitions and projects within this context, facilitating the work of both Irish and international artists. Basic Space produced work for the closing ceremony of EV+A International as part of Gracelands 2012 (Launch 2012) and took up residency at The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) and Temple Bar Gallery + Studios (TBG+S). Kari was Director of Basic Space from 2011-2014.

Kari has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, The Irish Times, +Billion- Art Journal, and Bloomers Magazine. She was also an invited guest speaker at various events, including Design Pop Cork (2021), Artist Breakfast Club (The Model, Sligo, 2020), Basic Talks (2019), Above the Fold, Galway (2017), Short Stories, Meath (2018), and New Ecologies of Practice, NCAD, Dublin (2012).

CV

/EDUCATION

BA (Fine Art), NCAD, Thomas Street, Dublin, Ireland.
Printmaking Masterclass, Graphic Studio, Dublin. (2017, 2018, 2019)
Japanese Woodblock Masterclass, Graphic Studio, Dublin. (2020)
Earth Pigment Masterclass with Tilke Elkins. (2021)

/EXPERIENCE

The Earth Sun Light. Collaborative Project. 2022 - Present
Lay of the Land Arts Organisation. Co-Founder & Director, 2016 - Present
Scarfskin Apparel and Homeware Brand. Co-Founder & Director, 2014-2016.
Basic Space Arts Organisation and Artist-run Space. Co-Founder & Director, 2010-2014

/UPCOMING/CURRENT

TALAMH AGUS TEANGA Land and Language in Contemporary Irish Art - Museum of Fine Art, Florida State University, Tallahassee, USA
TIME TORN SHORE Book (Ongoing, supported by the VA Bursary Award, Arts Council.)

/SELECTED PRESENTATIONS & EXHIBITIONS

2023
HALLOWED STONE - Gallery 126, Galway, Ireland.

2022
PARK LIFE: Biodiversity in Contemporary Irish Art. At The Glucksman Gallery Cork, Curated in partnership with the Environmental Research Institute, UCC.
PAIPEAR - Hang Tough Contemporary, Dublin.
TIMPEALLACHT - Klicoe Studios Group Exhibition, Skibereen Arts Festival.
CAIRDE VISUAL ARTS GROUP EXHIBITION - Cairde Festival, Hamilton Gallery, Sligo.
CLIFF PAINTING - Northwest Coast, Ireland. Funded by the Arts Council Project Award.

2021
KANREKI - The Graphic Studio Gallery
KANREKI - Internation Mokuhanga Association - Nara, Japan.
WHERE WE COLLIDE - Solo Show, Hyde Bridge Gallery, Yeats Building, Sligo.
TIDELINES - Tread Softly Arts Festival, Walking Project, Sligo
ARE WE THERE YET! - Hawk’s Well Theatre Commission, Sligo
MATERIALS MATTER - Workshop at VISUAL, Carlow
FAR IN FAR OUT EXHIBITION - Cairde Festival - Sligo
PIGMENT REVEALED EXHIBITION - Online, The World’s first Pigment Symposium
KANREKI - The Model, Sligo.
FORAGING FOR COLOUR - Glór Arts Centre, Ennis - Bealtaine Festival

2020
KANREKI - The Model, Sligo.
SO FINE ART CHRISTMAS SHOW - Powerscourt, Dublin. 2020
60 - Graphic Studio Members Exhibition, Hyde Bridge, Sligo.

2019
WILD INK - Exhibition at WILDS Gallery, Glandore, West Cork.
CALAFORT - Lay of the Land Residency + Exhibition, Port, Donegal.
CEANNBHRAT DEARG - Another Love Story, Killyon, Co. Meath.
RES 1 KERRY - Residency, Lauragh, Co. Kerry.
TOMBOLO 19 - Lay of the Land Residency + Exhibition, Brow Head, West Cork.
TOMBOLO WORKSHOP SERIES - Community Arts Engagement Programme.
RES 2&3 PORT - Residency, Port, Donegal.
FÍADH SELVAGEM - Exhibition at NaCasa, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.

2018
SILVA - Lay of the Land Residency + Exhibition, Knockomagh Woods, West Cork.
VUE - National Contemporary Art Fair, RHA, Dublin 2.
AURA - Solo Exhibition, Wilds, Glandore, Co. Cork.
COALESCE - Exhibition, Studio 10, Wicklow Street, Dublin.

2017
TOMBOLO 17, Brow Head, Mizen Peninsula, Cork
SIAR, Group Show, Doswell Gallery, Rosscarbery, Cork
LOCALES, Group Show, Doswell Gallery, Rosscarbery, Cork
CLUAIN MEALA - commissioned by Clonmel Junction Festival and Tipperary County Museum.
WILLOW WEAVE - Commission for Rachel Allen Restaurant, Cork City.

2016
TOMBOLO, Brow Head, West Cork.

2015
BLACK|WHITE – Commission for Teelings Distillery, Dublin 8, Ireland.
YES - Commission, Dublin Flea Market for Gay Marriage Referendum, Dublin

2013
[IRL][Nous Avons Voyagé à Nantes], d’Atelier De La Ville en Bois, Nantes, France.

2012
LAUNCH - ‘Circling the Square’, Gracelands at EV+A International 2012, Limerick Milk Market. Ireland.
FINE ART GRADUATE DEGREE SHOW, NCAD, Dublin.
NEW ECOLOGIES OF PRACTICE, NCAD Gallery, Dublin.

2011
UNDERGROUND, Basic Space, Vicar Street Warehouse, Dublin
HOST, Basic Space, Vicar Street, Dublin
RENDERED, Block T, Smithfield, Dublin

/ CURATION

2019 - LOTL 2019 Programme of Exhibitions & Residencies. Kerry, Donegal, West Cork.
2018 - SILVA 18 - Lay of the Land, Knockomagh Woods, Cork.
2017 - TOMBOLO 17 - Lay of the Land, Brow Head, Cork.
2016 - TOMBOLO 16 - Lay of the Land, Brow Head, Cork.
2014 - STAR WARS II - The Institute of Jamais Vu project, Basic Space, Dublin.
2013 - GUESTS - d’Atelier de la Ville en Bois group show, Basic Space, Dublin.
2012 - SHOP - NCAD Gallery, Dublin 8.
- UNDERGROUND - Basic Space, Vicar Street Warehouse, Dublin.
2011 - HOST - Group Show, Basic Space, Vicar Street Warehouse, Dublin
- RENDERED - Block T, Smithfield, Dublin

/ RESIDENCIES

2023 - INTERFACE INAGH, Connemara.
2022 - BKK, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
2021 - HOW TO MAKE THE EARTH SPEAK COLLABORATIVE RESIDENCY - Sligo (June 2021)
2020 - CILL RIALAIG, Ballinskelligs, Co. Kerry.
2019 - CALAFORT - Arranmore Island, Co. Donegal.
- RES 2 & 3 PORT - RES 2 & 3 - PORT - Residency, Donegal.
- NACASA, Florianopolis, Brazil.
- CASA DO MAR ABERTA, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
2018 - SILVA 18 - Lay of the Land, Knockomagh Wood Nature Reserve, West Cork.
2017 - TOMBOLO 17 - Lay of the Land, Brow Head, West Cork.
2016 - TOMBOLO 16 - Lay of the Land, Brow Head, Cork.
2015 - SPACE 118 - Bombay, India
2012 - PRESS - IMMA, Royal Kilmainham Hospital, Dublin
2011 - SUMMER CAMP - Basic Space, Vicar Street Warehouse, Dublin

/ GUEST SPEAKER

2022
THE GREEN ROOM Ecology & Sustainability Segment, Dublin City FM, Dublin.

2021
DESIGN POP, Architectural Festival. Cork.

2020
ARTIST BREAKFAST CLUB. The Model. Sligo

2019
BASIC TALK - Hugh Lane, Dublin 1.
NaCASA ARTISTAS - Florianopolis, Brazil.

2018
SEGUNDA SEGUNDA - Sao Paulo, Brazil.
BLOOMERS ART EVENT - Guesthouse, Shandon, Cork.
SHORT STORIES - Another Love Story Creative Festival, Killyon, Co. Meath.

2017
ABOVE THE FOLD - Creative Conference, Galway City.
ADRIFT STAGE - Body & Soul Festival, Ballinlough Castle, Co.Meath.
CREATIVE SPEED DATING - OFFSITE, OFFSET, Design Symposium Dublin 2.
FRED TALKS - Fading Light Festival, Caherdaniel, Co. Kerry

2012
NEW ECOLOGIES OF PRACTICE - NCAD GALLERY, Thomas Street, Dublin 8.

/AWARDS

2020 - Visual Arts Bursary 2020. Arts Council.
- Studio Artist at The Model, Sligo
- Professional Practice Award, 2020. Arts Council
2019 - Travel & Training Award. Arts Council
- Arts Grant Award. Arts Council.
- Graphic Studio Membership Award.
2018 - Festival Investments Scheme. Arts Council
- Cork County Council Community Engagement Scheme.
2017 - Festival & Events. Arts Council
- Arts Grant. Cork County Council
2016 - Arts Grant. Cork County Council
2014 - Vacant Spaces Initiative. Dublin City Council
- Visual Arts Workspace Scheme. Arts Council
2013 - Vacant Spaces Initiative. Dublin City Council
- Visual Arts Workspace Scheme. Arts Council

/ ARTICLES + MEDIA

2021
PAINTING IN TEXT - Artist Feature - June 2021
IRISH EXAMINER - Article - January 2021
IRISH BUSINESS POST - Interiors Section - January 2021
IRISH INDEPENDENT - Weekend Supplement - January 2021
IRISH INDEPENDENT - Interview - February 2021
SLIGO CHAMPION - Artist Feature - January 2021
SLIGO NOW - Artist Interview - February 2021
21 people who will shape culture in 2021 - The Tenth Man, Camden Street, Dublin

2020
WILD PIGMENT PEOPLE - Featured Artist 2020.
CASSANDRA VOICES - Featured Artist - June 2020.

2019
IRISH INDEPENDENT - Weekend Supplement - January 2020THE IRISH TIMES - Feature - August 2019
THE MAKERS - Feature - August 2019
WEST CORK PEOPLE - Feature - May 2019
SOUTHERN STAR - Culture Piece - May 2019
EXAMINER - Arts Feature - May 2019
IRISH TIMES MAGAZINE - Wild Art Feature - May 2019
THE ECHO - Culture Feature - May 2019
PURECORK.IE - What’s on in Cork - May 2019
IMAGE.IE - Feature - MAY 2019
THE GLOSS MAGAZINE - 5 GLOSSY THINGS TO DO - MAY 2019 BLOOMERS MAGAZINE - Interview with Artists - Oct

2018
THE JOURNAL - Culture Feature - Oct 2018
IRISH TIMES MAGAZINE - Highlight - Sept 2018
MY GOOD PLANET - Interview - March 2018
GROWN - Interview - February 2018

2017
TOTALLY DUBLIN - 2017
REBEL MATTERS PODCAST - 2017
THE IRISH EXAMINER - 2017
THE IRISH TIMES - 2017
RYALL CONTEMPORARY 2017

2016
IRISH TIMES MAGAZINE - 2016
TOTALLY DUBLIN - 2015 (SCARFSKIN)
IRISH TIMES MAGAZINE - 2015 -(SCARFSKIN)

2012
PAPER VISUAL ARTS - 2012
ART PAPERS - July/August 2012
AFAR - July 2012
POSSIBILITY.RISK.PEDAGOGY The Ideology of an Artist Run Space - BA (Fine Art) Thesis, Kari Cahill. 2012
NEW YORK TIMES - December 2012
+BILLION- ART JOURNAL - September 2012
THE GUARDIAN - 2012