Sasha Sykes is an artist and creator of highly unusual hand-crafted contemporary furniture and functional artworks. Born in Dublin in 1976, Skyes studied Architecture and worked as a Retail Designer before establishing her solo artistic career.  She has worked all over the world including London (1999-2003) and New York (2003-2006) and has now settled in her native County Carlow where she lives with her husband and two young children. She works from a strawbale studio next door. The artist’s work is particularly known for its use of acrylics and hand-cast resins, embedding found objects and collected organic materials, which tell stories of our landscape and social history.

Sykes reflects, ‘My work is primarily influenced by the scale, approach and aesthetic of the Irish landscape. I like to explore the cycle of life and decay, and the dichotomy of fragility and preservation. I am particularly interested in mankind’s relationship with our surroundings, and expressing the nature of that interaction is central to my work. I like to work with unusual organic and locally found materials; eg, wildflowers and thistles from the Wicklow mountains, mosses and lichens from Carlow or seaweeds and shells from the south & west coasts. Together, objects such as these tell intimate stories about the physical locality as well as shedding light on the values and priorities of people living in the area. This combination of the natural habitat and man’s influence shape and color everything in our world.’

Sykes’ art is found in numerous private and public collections such as the National Museum of Ireland (Collins Barracks) as well as prestigious hotels and corporate headquarters: Carton House, the Cliff House Hotel and Bank of America. The New York Times stated that Sykes’ art is ‘for people who live in the city but dream of the country’.

This year, Sykes was selected by the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship to participate in Homo Faber in Venice in September in the ‘Best of Europe’ section, as well as a large brick screen, Gyre, which had critical success at the PAD fair in London in October.

Exhibitions

2018
1:8, Voltz Clarke Gallery, New York, NY
PAD, Peter Petrou, London, UK
Homo Faber (Best of Europe), Venice, Italy
Ealaín, The National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland

2017
Tresor Contemporary Craft Fair, Basel, Switzerland
Narratives in Making, NCG & Ruthin Centre, Wales
A Name Unmade, Solstice Arts Centre & Nerve, Derry & the Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris, France

2016
In Residence, Oliver Sears, London, UK
Caliology, Oliver Sears, Dublin, Ireland

2015
In Residence, Oliver Sears, London, UK

2014
Vase, Vessel, Void, Oliver Sears, Dublin, Ireland
Encased, Voltz Clarke Gallery, New York, NY

2013
Cheongju Biennale, Korea
Vernacular, London Design Week
Future Beauty, Farmleigh Gallery, Dublin
After & Since Eileen Gray, Wexford Ireland
True Love, Kilgraney House Summer Show, Carlow Ireland

2012
Gallery 43, Eigse Art Festival, Carlow Ireland

2011
Designs to Live With, Dun Laoghaire
Celebration of Craftsmanship & Design, Cheltenham
Start, Clarence House, London
Bloom Festival (with CCOI)
Blooming Art, Kilgraney House Gallery, Eigse Festival (Carlow)
Interior Design & Art Fair, RDS

2010
EU Gateway Interior Design Mission to Tokyo       
The Family Silver (solo show) Eigse Festival (Carlow)
Interior Design & Art Fair, RDS

2009
100% Design, London
Interior Design & Art Fair, RDS

2007
Ecology, Mythology, Technology, (National Craft Gallery Kilkenny & Farmleigh)
Urban Retreat Gallery, Dublin

2005
Create, Fota House Cork
Space Downtown, Chelsea Hotel New York Design Week
Insomniac Dreams, Curated Voltz Clarke, M Gallery, NYC)       

2004
Space Downtown, Chelsea Hotel New York Design Week

2003
Farm21 solo show at CC Gallery, Westbourne Grove, London
100% Design, London

2002
100% Design, London