Isabel Nolan (Live at Dublin Gallery Weekend)

Isabel Nolan (Live at Dublin Gallery Weekend)

Author: Russell Tovey and Robert Diament December 12, 2025 Duration: 1:04:25

We are delighted to announce the first ever Irish episode of Russell Tovey and Robert Diament’s acclaimed Talk Art podcast, recorded live at the National Gallery of Ireland Lecture Theatre on Saturday November 8th for Dublin Gallery Weekend 2025.


Isabel Nolan, Ireland’s representative at the 2026 Venice Biennale, has an expansive practice that incorporates sculptures, paintings, textile works, photographs, writing and works on paper. Her subject matter is similarly comprehensive, taking in cosmological phenomena, religious reliquaries, Greco-Roman sculptures and literary/historical figures, examining the behaviour of humans and animals alike.


These diverse artistic investigations are driven by intensive research, but the end result is always deeply personal and subjective. Exploring the “intimacy of materiality”, Nolan’s work ranges from the architectural – steel sculptures that frame or obstruct our path – to small handmade objects in clay, hand-tufted wool rugs illuminated with striking cosmic imagery, to drawings and paintings using humble gouache or colouring pencils. In concert, they feel equally enchanted by and afraid of the world around us, expressing humanity’s fear of mortality and deep need for connection as well as its startling achievements in art and thought.


Driven by “the calamity, the weirdness, horror, brevity and wonder of existing alongside billions of other preoccupied humans”, her works give generous form to fundamental questions about the ways the chaos of the world is made beautiful or given meaning through human activity.


In 2026, Nolan will represent Ireland at the 61st Venice Biennale, with Georgina Jackson and The Douglas Hyde Gallery of Contemporary Art as the curator and Cian O’Brien as producer. In 2025, Nolan participated in the 13th Liverpool Biennial, Bedrock, curated by Marie-Anne McQuay. 


Isabel Nolan lives and works in Dublin.


Follow @NolanIsabel and @KerlinGallery.

Thank you @DublinGalleryWeekend, we loved visiting! We can’t wait to return to beautiful Ireland.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


You’re invited into a series of conversations that feel more like hanging out in a gallery after hours than a formal interview. Talk Art brings together actor Russell Tovey and gallerist Robert Diament, whose shared passion and genuine curiosity create a uniquely accessible doorway into the art world. Each episode unfolds as a relaxed yet insightful chat, pulling back the curtain on creative processes and personal stories. They speak with a wide range of voices-from celebrated artists and influential curators to their own talented friends from fields like music, acting, and journalism-all of whom bring a fresh perspective on why art matters. Tuning into this podcast feels like discovering the stories behind the work, the human connections that fuel creativity, and the simple joy of looking at something familiar in a completely new way. It’s less about art theory and more about the lived experience of art, capturing those moments of wonder that remind us how visual culture shapes and reflects our lives. For a visual companion to the discussions, their Instagram is the perfect place to see the artworks that come up in conversation.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Talk Art
Podcast Episodes
Nicolas Deshayes [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:13
Talk Art Season 27 continues with sculptor Nicolas Deshayes whose works explore the form and materiality of bodies and what happens below their surfaces. Hosted by Robert Diament.Process, or processing, is the impetus fo…
Catherine Chinatree [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:55
Catherine Chinatree is a socially engaged multi-disciplinary artist based in Margate. She works in various contexts, including in the public realm. Her work focuses on the idea of shared “reality,” with an emphasis on id…
Georg Wilson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:24
Talk Art season 27 continues with British painter GEORG WILSON!!! Hosted by Robert Diament.A spirit of place informs #GeorgWilson’s practice. Drawing inspiration from ancient English folklore, poetry and painting, the ar…
Holly Blakey [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:47
Season 27 begins! This new season is hosted by Robert Diament.Robert meets Holly Blakey, one of the foremost choreographers of her generation and one of the few female choreographers in the UK creating large-scale work.H…
Alison Goldfrapp [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:49
It’s the Talk Art Christmas special! We meet Alison Goldfrapp, the creative force behind some of the most captivating music of the past two and a half decades!!! We celebrate Alison’s new reinterpretation of David Bowie’…
Barbara Dawson (Francis Bacon Studio at Hugh Lane Gallery) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:29
Russell & Robert meet Barbara Dawson for a behind the scenes visit to Francis Bacon’s Studio, installed in Dublin’s iconic Hugh Lane Gallery. The gallery is currently closed to the public for major renovations so we thou…
Marco Falcioni (BOSS & Art Basel Awards) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:20
This episode is a special partnership with BOSS. Special episode recorded during Miami Basel week, December 2025. #ADRussell & Robert catch up with Marco Falcioni, Creative Director of HUGO BOSS. We discuss the Art Basel…
Kate Bryan & David Shrigley [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:02
We meet curator Kate Bryan and artist David Shrigley to explore their new book How To Art. Recorded live in London, in front of a sold out audience.What is art, where do I find it, and once I’m in front of it, what am I…
Louisa Buck (Cork Street Galleries special episode) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:54
#AD - Cork Street Galleries special episode!We meet art critic Louisa Buck to explore 100 years of Cork Street!Cork Street Galleries this year celebrates its centenary as a pioneering force in the art world, with 2025 ma…
Edmund de Waal [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:09
New @TalkArt podcast episode! We meet legendary artist, potter and author @EdmunddeWaal at his studio in South London!!We explore more than 40 years of making pots, and learn about the first major exhibition of acclaimed…