Cóilín Ó Dubhghaill

Cóilín Ó Dubhghaill is an Irish artist and academic, crafting as a silversmith and also in copper and Japanese-inspired copper alloys, gold and other metals. then associated with Heriot-Watt University, with a period on exchange at Maine College of Art. Graduating with an honours BA in Design and Applied Arts, he went on to win two scholarships for further study in the United States.

Ó Dubhghaill started a new phase in his studies and career with a move to Japan in 1998 on a Monbusho Scholarship. He studied at the Tokyo University of the Arts, often known as Geidai, working towards a Masters from 2000-2002, and then until 2005 for a PhD in Fine Arts. including with the Art and Design Research Centre (ADRC) and the Materials and Engineering Research Institute (MERI).

Ó Dubhghaill has been a visiting lecturer at institutions including his almae mater, the Hong Kong Design Institute, the Australian National University at Canberra, RMIT University at Melbourne, Tama Art University (Tamabi) in Japan, the London Metropolitan University and the National College of Art and Design in Dublin,

As a development from his work on mokume gane, a material notoriously difficult and costly to produce at both small and large scales, Ó Dubhghaill has participated in the development of a new type of hybrid metal alloy, mikana, with properties similar to the output of mokume gane while aiming to be more manageable and affordable.

Craftwork Ó Dubhghaill specialises in the making of vessels (hollowware), many inspired by Japanese traditions little known in the West, such as the use of shakudō, shibuichi

In 2018 his home city, Sheffield, commissioned a piece for the Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust (operating as Museums Sheffield), the first large work to include the new hybrid metal he co-invented, mikana; the piece was sponsored by the Contemporary Art Society.

Studio Ó Dubhghaill has a studio and workshop at the Persistence Works facility operated by Yorkshire ArtSpace. The Yorkshire ArtSpace studios have an Open Day once a year, when all studios can be visited.

Exhibitions Ó Dubhghaill began to actively exhibit in the mid-2000s and shows in which he participated include: solo exhibitions at the Galerie Marzee (2006, 2008, 2016), and at galleries in London and Edinburgh Other exhibitions have taken place in cities including Amsterdam, Dublin, Edinburgh, Geneva, London, Munich, Paris, San Francisco, Sheffield, as well as Dun Laoghaire, Galway, and Kilkenny in Ireland.

Residencies Ó Dubhghaill was artist-in-residence at the Centre Culturel Irlandais in Paris, France, for August 2019, researching French metalwork techniques, contemporary and dinanderie and preparing a 2020 exhibition.

Publications Among Ó Dubhghaill's academic papers are:

Formal academic papers Albuquerque, New Mexico, US, 2009: Bell, Eddie (ed.) Proceedings of the Santa Fe Symposium on Jewelry Manufacturing Technology 2009: (Paper) O'Dubhghaill, C. and Jones, A.H., Japanese irogane alloys and patination – a study of production and application. Brussels, Belgium, Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie van Belgie, 2010: Gimeno-Martinez, J. and Flore, F. (eds.), Design and craft: proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Design History and Design Studies (ICDHS), 20–22 September 2010: (Paper) O'Dubhghaill, C., Mokume Gane: a reinvention.

Working and exhibition materials Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland, Dublin City University, 2017: Make:Shift Ireland, 6 November 2017 (event circulation only): O'Dubhghaill, C., Intersection: traditional craft process and new technology.

Personal life Ó Dubhghaill lives in Sheffield, Yorkshire.