Sorcha McNamara: The Weight of Air

Official opening 6 - 8 pm Thursday 13 August 2026 by Nuala Clarke

The Weight of Air is a new site-specific exhibition by Sorcha McNamara. The exhibition reflects the artist's material-led practice and dwells on the concept of the frame. The works in question explore how something is held, regarded and positioned in space, both literally and figuratively. Much of the work in the exhibition was developed during her time spent on residency in Fire Station Artists' Studios, Dublin (2025-26). In her practice, Sorcha primarily uses discarded material to make spatial compositions across painting, installation and sculptural assemblage. Working with a particular attunement to conditions of language, surface, physicality and embodiment, she navigates various tensions around craft, manipulation, agency, and value.

Sorcha McNamara is an artist currently based in Mayo. She holds an MA in Art & Research Collaboration from IADT Dún Laoghaire (2024) and a BA in Painting from Limerick School of Art & Design (2019). She was a 2025-26 residential awardee at Fire Station Artists' Studios, Dublin. Her work was shortlisted for the 2025 Golden Fleece Award. Past solo exhibitions include Echo/Locate at The Linenhall, Castlebar, Fathomless Arms at Ballina Arts Centre, and Readymade #2 at Oonagh Young Gallery, Dublin. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at Green on Red Gallery, Dublin (2025), VISUAL Carlow (2024), Catalyst Arts, Belfast (2024), Draíocht, Dublin (2023), and The LAB, Dublin (2023), among others. Previous residencies include Leitrim Sculpture Centre (2024), Zaratan Arte Contemporanea, Lisbon (2024), Totaldobze Art Centre, Riga (2022), and Tangent Projects, Barcelona (2021). Sorcha's work has been supported through Mayo County Council and the Arts Council of Ireland.