Nicola Henley
Nicola Henley produces large-scale textile artworks using a combination of dye, painting, screenprint, collage and embroidery on cotton calico. Inspired by landscapes and seascapes and their native wildlife, she is particularly interested in the movement and behaviour of birds.
Henley’s process starts with the dyeing of a large piece of calico, and the photographic transfer of hand-drawn images onto silk-screens. The screens are then used repeatedly, combined with painting, to build up layers of image on the calico. She works both sides of the cloth with a series of sequential marks, to impart texture and colour, and to create a sense of three-dimensional space. Some areas of the surface are then collaged with a mixture of Japanese hand-made papers, fine muslin and dense stitch. In the contrast between large open colour fields and small-scale detail, Henley aims to evoke images of bird life and its natural habitat.
Henley completed a degree in Fine Art Textiles at Goldsmith’s College, London in 1984. Originally from Bristol, she moved to Ireland in 1991, and now lives and works in Co. Clare.
Collections
Cunard Cruise Company (P&O), UK
British Rail, St Pancras Office, London, UK
British Crafts Council, London, UK
Embroiderers Guild, London, UK
Microsoft Ireland, Dublin
Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan
Galerie Pousse, Tokyo, Japan
The Rockshop, Co. Clare
Private collections nationally and internationally
Selected Awards
2012 | Arts Participation Touring Grant, Arts Council of Ireland |
Selected Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
2012 | Timeless Textiles, Newcastle, NSW, Australia |
2008 | Nicola Henley Solo Exhibition Grennan Mill, Kilkenny Arts Festival |
2006 | Hibernia Solo exhibition, Florida, USA |
2003 | Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland |
2002 | Guinness Gallery, Dublin |
2000 | Contemporary Applied Arts, London, UK |
1999 | Primavera, Solo Exhibition, Cambridge, UK |
1998 | Nicola Henley Solo Exhibition, Galerie Pousse, Tokyo, Japan |
1997 | Nicola Henley Solo Exhibition, H-I-P-O-TESI Gallery, Barcelona, Spain, Guinness Gallery, Dublin |
1996 | Oxford Gallery, Oxford, UK |
1995 | Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh |
1993 | Royal Festival Hall, London, UK |
1992 | Solo Exhibition, Galerie Pousse, Tokyo, Japan |
Group Exhibitions and Fairs
2014 | ‘Elemental Dialogue’, Ennistymon Courthouse, Co. Clare |
2013 ‘Pattern’ Knit and Stitch, RDS, Dublin |
2013 | Ruthin Craft Centre ‘Rendezvous Goldsmiths’, Wales, UK |
2011 | ‘Nature’ Knit and Stitch, RDS, Dublin, Year of Craft Exhibition, ‘The Glor’, Ennis, Co. Clare |
2007 | SOFA Chicago, USA |
2005 | Collectors Show, Hunt Museum, Limerick |
Gallery Representation
Contemporary Applied Arts, London, UK
The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
Primavera, Cambridge, UK
Galerie Pousse, Tokyo, Japan
Hibernia, Florida, USA
Contact Details:
Nicola Henley
Coolawn
Tuamgraney
Scariff
Co. Clare
T. +353 86 3465684 / 061 921411
E. nhenley6@gmail.com
www.nicolahenley.com