Isabel Nolan’s work responds to big, often abstract, ideas with intimacy and materiality.

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Whether fixating on the knees of a C17th sculpture, or considering the status of a Neolithic artefact, images of deep space or the contingent grandeur of Gothic architecture, the work responds to how we make reality happen through science, philosophy, religion, and art. Nolan’s practice is materially expansive, matching the scope and scale of her varied interests; encompassing architectural, steel, sculptures, handmade objects, tapestries, water-based oil paintings, pencil drawings or texts. Working thus, Nolan looks for ways to sidestep the, often arbitrary, nature of authority, to like, or even love, the difficult and complex human world we’ve made.

Nolan’s most recent exhibitions include solos at ‘499 Seconds’ Chateau La Coste, Aix-en-Provence, France, 2023; ‘Flotsam, Jetsam, Lagan and Derelict’, Void, Derry, 2022-23; and a two-person show ‘Material Flux’ with Aleana Egan at Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda, 2024. Nolan’s work featured in EVA international 2018; and LIAF Biennial, Lofoten, 2015. Recent monographs include ‘A delicate bond which is also a gap’ 2024, published by Solstice Arts Centre, Navan; ‘Curling up with Reality’ 2020, published by Launchpad, London & Kerlin Gallery, Dublin. Nolan’s work is in the collections of Arts Council of Ireland, TATE Modern, UK; National Gallery of Ireland; Crawford Art Gallery, Cork; Nasher Collection, Dallas; Irish Museum of Modern Art.

Nolan is represented by Kerlin Gallery, Dublin