Cathy Carman was born in Portlaoise in 1952. A graduate of the National College of Art and Design, where she dedicated herself to sculpture, Carman is a student and celebrator of the human body who has managed to bypass the now perceived academia of bronze by imbuing the material with a distinct narrative. As she writes: ‘I like to work with the human body. The human body contains the story. There is no story besides the story of being human. I like to work with the human being body.’ Through this motif and its understanding, Carman seeks access to understanding itself.
This timeless, partly autobiographical quest being better served by a timeless material, the artist has focused on bronze. Deemed somewhat obsolete in the contemporary era, bronze’s historical cachet goes hand in hand with Carman’s artistic endeavour. She has also used other techniques and materials, such as digital imaging, ceramic, floor drawings, sound installations and found objects to explore her transformative subject.
Public commissions have greatly added to Carman’s visibility and notoriety. Among the most notable include: St Kilian’s German School, Dublin; Parnell Street and Summerhill, Dublin Corporation; The Great Blasket Centre, Blasket Islands, Co. Kerry; Colonel James Fitzmaurice, Co. Laois; Sligo County Council offices, Riverside, Sligo; Tullamore Garda Station, Co. Offaly; Castlerea Prison, Co. Roscommon; Drumcoora Drumshanbo, Co Leitrim; Naomh Eoin National School, Co. Laois; Teagasc, Oak Park, Co. Carlow.
