Liam Flynn

Liam Flynn's family have been involved in joining and woodworking for generations. Flynn carries on the tradition, but his focus is on turning wood, specifically creating and refining the classic vessel form.

The artist has an exceptional skill for understanding the grain of the wood, compounded with a technical dexterity to predict how the wood will dry. He manipulates the woodturning process so that the line of the grain becomes an integral part to the creative design of the piece. This results in vessels that are breathtakingly simple and elegant, while also exceptionally complex to achieve. The artist says of his practice, 'I relish the challenge of interpreting what the timber will do, how much movement is going to occur as the vessel dries out and what influence that will have on the final line of the piece.'

Flynn works almost entirely in Irish Oak, a strong durable wood that demands simplicity of form. As the wood is also rich in tannins, it is ideal for fuming and ebonising, a colouring that the artist can use creatively to accentuate the stark form he achieves.

Flynn lives and works in County Limerick, Ireland. Almost entirely self-taught, he is now recognized as one of the world's foremost woodturners. The artist’s work is in the permanent collections of Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK; National Museum of Ireland; Wood Turning Center, Philadelphia; Department of Foreign Affairs Ireland Collection and Crafts Council of Ireland. Flynn’s celebrated status as a maker in Ireland has recently been recognized through a retrospective exhibition at the Hunt Museum, Limerick. His work was featured on a new special edition stamp, issued to mark 2011 as the Year of Craft in Ireland.

Liam Flynn's e-catalogue of available works including prices