About
Artist statement
My work uses ceramics and print to examine the absurdities, contradictions and quiet tensions of contemporary life. Drawing from everyday encounters, popular culture, domestic life and the constant stream of images and information we consume, I create narrative works that turn familiar situations slightly sideways.
Humour is central to my practice. I use satire, visual excess and moments of ridiculousness to approach subjects that can be uncomfortable, political or personal. Figures, text and recognisable cultural references accumulate across ceramic surfaces, creating scenes that appear playful at first but reveal more complicated stories on closer inspection.
Printmaking is fundamental to how I work. Images are drawn, printed, transferred, repeated and layered onto clay, allowing the vessel to become a space for storytelling. Through these narratives I explore ideas around power, gender, technology and the strange ways we live alongside one another.
In her own words, August 2026.
“the fact that the story unfolds as you move around the pot is a big part of the work.”
From an email, August 2026
Plain text version of the statement, for catalogues and applications.
Biography
Suzanne Dolan is an Irish visual artist working across ceramics and print. A graduate of Limerick School of Art and Design, she creates narrative works combining traditional making and print processes with satire, social observation and contemporary imagery.
- 196th RHA Annual Exhibition 2026, selected
- 145th Royal Ulster Academy Annual Exhibition 2026, two works selected, forthcoming
- Women in Art Prize 2026, Sculpture Finalist
Her work has been selected for the Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition, the Royal Ulster Academy Annual Exhibition and the Women in Art Prize, where she was named a 2026 Sculpture finalist. Her work has been reviewed in The Irish Times. Dolan lives and works in County Galway, Ireland.
Process
Images are drawn, printed, transferred, repeated and layered onto clay, allowing the vessel to become a space for storytelling.
