Deirdre McLoughlin

The archetypal form, the ovoid, is central in Deirdre McLoughlin’s work. Imbued with an intense physicality and dedication to perfection of form and surface, her sculptures are layered with meaning, charged with movement, a feeling of power, a sense of purity. ‘I know a work has come to an end when an inner logic reveals itself. Her making process is slow and demanding; her pieces undergo a protracted process of polishing and multiple firings. This can last for days into weeks.The work in an instance feels right.’

She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Trinity College Dublin in 2021 in recognition of her significant artistic achievements and her dedication to her craft. Deirdre McLoughlin is a two-time winner of the Keramik Europas Westerwaldpreis and has been honoured by KOCEF in Korea. Her portrait is included in the National Self-Portrait Collection of Ireland, and her work has even been commemorated on a postage stamp. She is also an elected member of the International Academy of Ceramics. McLoughlin moved to Amsterdam in the early 1970s, where she began working with clay, inspired by the sculptures of Rosemary Andrews. As she developed her sculptural language, she came to realise that the forms she was creating were a true means of expression—what is generally understood as art. Until then, she often faced the recurring question: “Why don’t you make something useful?” This realisation led her to Japan, where she established a studio and worked alongside members of the influential Sodeisha Group. The sculptures of Yasuo Hayashi, with their sublime geometry, left a lasting mark on her artistic development. After her first solo exhibition in Kyoto, she travelled extensively throughout China during a period when the country was opening up to the world. In 1988, she returned to Amsterdam, where she remains based today.