About
Tommy Brennan is a self-taught sculptor, living in Tubber Co. Clare.
He creates mostly small scale figurative pieces in stone, usually limestone and marble. He admits to a life long fascination with stone, it’s formation and it antiquity and for many years he worked as a stonemason, practicing the traditional craft of stone building. Having dressed and shaped stone for most of his life the move to stone carving was a natural progression.
He uses off-cuts or fragments of broken or discarded stone, which he acquires from monumental sculptors, salvage yards or building sites. Thus, these pieces of stone instead of being superfluous or destined for landfill receive a new lease of life. The nature of this recycling process is an important aspect of his work. In what might be perceived as rubble he sees potential and value. The sometimes random nature of obtaining stone determines the size and form of the finished piece.
The figure fits the available stone, the stone often suggests the figure.
The initial stage in his sculptural practice is to create a clay model from photographs or drawings, which acts as a 3D guide for the finished piece. His style is small in scale, figurative and representational, and focussed mainly on the female form. He values the time honoured techniques of sculpting and as much as possible uses traditional hand tools in his work.
Exhibitions & Open calls
Oughterard Courthouse Arts Programme, Summer exhibitions 2023 (OCAP), Natural Selection group show 14th-23rd July
Cairde Sligo Arts Festival, Cairde Visual 2023, Hamilton Gallery Sligo 1st-21st July
“Racht” Open call. Herman and Wilkinson, Exhibition 15th-18th December 2023, Studio 10, Wicklow Street, Dublin
Tommy Brennan is a self-taught sculptor, living in Tubber Co. Clare.
He creates mostly small scale figurative pieces in stone, usually limestone and marble. He admits to a life long fascination with stone, it’s formation and it antiquity and for many years he worked as a stonemason, practicing the traditional craft of stone building. Having dressed and shaped stone for most of his life the move to stone carving was a natural progression.
He uses off-cuts or fragments of broken or discarded stone, which he acquires from monumental sculptors, salvage yards or building sites. Thus, these pieces of stone instead of being superfluous or destined for landfill receive a new lease of life. The nature of this recycling process is an important aspect of his work. In what might be perceived as rubble he sees potential and value. The random nature of obtaining stone determines the size and form of the finished piece.
The figure fits the available stone, the stone often suggests the figure.
The initial stage in his sculptural practice is to create a clay model from photographs or drawings, which acts as a 3D guide for the finished piece. His style is small in scale, figurative and representational, and focussed mainly on the female form. He values the time honoured techniques of sculpting and as much as possible uses traditional hand tools in his work.
Exhibitions & Open calls
Oughterard Courthouse Arts Programme, Summer exhibitions 2023 (OCAP), Natural Selection group show 14th-23rd July
Cairde Sligo Arts Festival, Cairde Visual 2023, Hamilton Gallery Sligo 1st-21st July
“Racht” Open call. Herman and Wilkinson, Exhibition 15th-18th December 2023, Studio 10, Wicklow Street, Dublin