Artist Statement
Nature can push mountains out of the earth and weather them back down to a pebble over millennia, bringing forth life from the dead, unnoticed and unappreciated, effortlessly creating countless miracles in every moment. We have forgotten that we too are a part of Nature, just as Nature is a part of us. Through my studies I have come to realise that my goal is to remember and reintegrate back into this magic and create from its source.
Artist Statement continued:
The techniques I have developed over the years and continue to hone are more for creating an environment for a symbiotic relationship with the clay to flourish, instead of me forcing my will upon it. What I love about ceramics is that you are only a participant in the creation and therefore can celebrate the beauty of a finished piece without involvement of the ego. This can only happen because you know that other forces have had a part in its making.
For me to create a physical manifestation of the peace and tranquility I find in Nature I need to first find myself in “the flow” or what is commonly referred to as “the zone or Wu Wei (Effortless Action or non doing) ”. This is easier said than done but contradictorily, is achievable when you stop trying.
Teller states that “Sometimes Magic is just someone spending more time on something than anyone else might reasonably expect.” I believe this also holds true for artists. We educate ourselves, we explore, we experiment, we fail and then begin again. This cycle continues until we no longer need to think about it and just do. In my experience, it is from this doing that my best work has been created.
Bio
Darren Francis Cassidy (1973, Ireland), having studied Art and Design between 1992 - 1997 including a Degree in Design Communications in Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design (1993 to 1996) and a year in St. Johns College studying Multimedia (1996 to 1997) he became a graphic designer and illustrator in 1998.
From 2008 to 2012 Darren completed multiple creative night courses including Furniture Making, Wood Carving and then finally Ceramics at the Cork Crawford Art College. In 2012 he completed his training to become a Ceramic Tutor with the Cork Educational Training Board and from 2012 to 2023 he was a tutor teaching Ceramics in a selection of facilities in the South of Ireland.
In 2020 he moved from Cork City to a rural community in West Cork where he taught Ceramics locally until 2023 when he decided to concentrate all of his energy in producing a new body of work for Galleries. His work has evolved over the years and at present he is expanding his Na Farraige (Of the Sea) series for upcoming exhibitions in 2025.
Cassidy has exhibited in The Lavit Gallery, Cork, Space Craft, Belfast, The Narrow Space, Clonmel, Millcove Gallery, Cork, The Wandesford Gallery Cork, The Open Window, Dublin, Zozimus Gallery, Dublin, Ceramics Ireland Exhibition, Dublin Castle , Cahir Arts Gallery, Tipperary and the traveling exhibition More Clay Less Plastic, Italy.