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.


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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

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