Christy Keeney was born in Ireland and studied ceramics at the Royal College of Art in London. After spending 17 years in London, Christy returned to his native Donegal where he now lives and works. His sculpted, slab built heads and figures are beautifully crafted and finished, with details drawn into the wet clay surface. These innovative figurative ceramics are stretched to the point where sculpture and drawing overlap.

Christy is influenced and inspired by Picasso’s sculptures: ‘I visited a retrospective exhibition of Picasso, at the Tate Gallery, when I was at college. Many of my influences came from seeing that work, especially a collection of small, cardboard cutout and folded, figurative sculptures. These simple two dimensional pieces opened a world of possibilities on how I would approach my own work.’

Christy is very widely exhibited and has completed many prestigious commissions, including that of a head for King Charles