Fire Horse Glass

About the artist

Emerald Dunne
Emerald Dunne
Emerald Dunne

Paint, Ceramic

London
United Kingdom

    Statement

     

    Emerald Dunne: Artist statement

     My background is in stained glass and I run my own business, Fire Horse Glass. While living in Japan I began to explore painting and held three exhibitions of my work. Like many western visitors I had expected to encounter a blend of the traditional and the innovative. I was keen to capture the colours that I saw there: the bright blue of a metallic mobile phone, the red and gold of a kimono.

    The work that I started in Japan depicts circles, the default shape of the universe. Electrons revolve around neutrons as stars spin around star systems. Life could also be described as circular; we often come back to the same points time and time again, hopefully with more knowledge and experience. I find Buddhist belief in reincarnation an interesting idea and one which I found particularly inspiring when visiting Koyasan, a major centre of Buddhist practice and belief near Osaka in Japan. 

    My more recent work focuses on artificial lights and how they represent the presence of human beings. When I was a child I lived in Scotland in North Berwick, a small seaside town some twenty-five miles from Edinburgh. It was a dormitory town but also a popular holiday spot because of its interesting beaches and nearby rock islands. One of them, the Bass Rock, was manned island and each night I would sit and wait for the lamp to come on. I was always aware that the lamp out at sea meant another human being was there. And this was same feeling I had whenever I gazed across the sea to Fife on the opposite coast, seeing the yellow and orange lights that obscured homes, streets and cars. I found it very comforting to know that other lives were going on across the water, even if I knew nothing about the people living them.

    Biography

    September 1993 to June 1994
    Stained glass construction course, Lambeth College, London, U.K.
    September 1992 to July 1993
    Foundation Year, Chelsea College of Art and Design, London, U.K.
    June 1997
    BA (Hons) Public Art and Design, Chelsea College of Art and Design, London, U.K.
    July 1997
    Fire Horse Glass established.
    July 2005
    Edenbridge Project. Glass workshops for young mothers. Surrey, U.K.
    August 2005
    Community art project between Christian and Muslim teenagers, Island House, London E14, U.K.
    October 2005
    Mosaic project at St. Edmund's School, London E14, U.K.
    Nov 2006-June 2008
    Spent time in Japan
    July 2009
    Mosaic, St. Mary's School, Evesham, Worcester, U.K.
    July 2011
    Stained glass windows, St. Mark's Primary School, Kent, UK.
    May 2011
    Art workshop, primary school in London, UK.

    I was born in Scotland and came to live in London aged 9. Until the age of 25 I was following a sensible career route, studying French and German at university. But then I did a GCSE in Art and Design and changed direction. I became interested in stained glass when a local character showed me some of his work, but admitted that he hadn't got the patience to train others in this craft. I loved the way that the light made colours and feelings sing, so enrolled on a stained glass course.

    A couple of successful commissions persuaded me to start trading as Fire Horse Glass. In the meantime I'd gained a BA (Hons) in Public Art and Design. I've always enjoyed the immediacy of making work for someone's home and seeing it installed, so concentrated my efforts on domestic commissions. I also run occasional stained glass and mosaic workshops. Projects completed include a coloured glass window at a Christian/Muslim community group and a mosaic in a primary school. In the near future I'd like to carry on with my glass art and painting, bringing together elements of both into more cohesive artworks.

    Exhibition History

    November 2011 to April 2012  Squaeky Gate Music Charity
    February to April 2011  The Lounge Bar, Brixton, London SW2
    November 19th to December 9th 2010  Camden Art Gallery, London NW1, UK. Group exhibition
    March 19th to May 31st 2010  Hart Gallery, Colchester NHS Primary Care Unit, Colchester, Essex, UK.
    July 17th to 18th 2010  Urban Art, London SW2, UK.
    February - April 2010  Cafe Provencale, Herne Hill, London SE24.
    July 12th 2009  Urban Art, London SW2, UK.
    June 29th to July 13th 2009  Coffee 1st, Lavender Hill, London SW9.
    June 23rd to 28th, 2009  EWACC Artists Exchange Exhibition, Lennox Gallery, London SW6.
    February 2008  Kyushu Gazai Art Store, Kitakyushu, Japan. Solo show
    Aug-Sept 2007  Stelle e Steli, Art de Art Gallery, Takatsuki, Kansai, Japan. Solo show
    July 2007  JK Cafe, Takatsuki, Kansai, Japan. Solo show
    June 2005  Just Glass, Richmond, London, UK. Group show
    November 2002  Fish House Gallery, London SE1. Group Show
    May-July 2001  Cafe Pushkar, London SW2, UK. Solo show
    July 1997  Chelsea School of Art and Design BA Show