Niamh Barry’s sculptural lighting is an exercise in artistry. The self-taught metalworker approaches each beguiling chandelier, wall light, table lamp and floor lamp with a desire to go beyond the piece’s practicality and create something exceptional. Working in bronze, she welds the metal into intricate shapes that become optical illusions.
Barry was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1968 and graduated from the National College of Art and Design in 1991. After graduation, she opened a studio where she could experiment with light and form based on inspiration from the natural world. In designing her pieces, Barry draws inspiration from everything from plants to astrological patterns.
Barry is particularly well-known for being one of the pioneers of LED lighting. The technology allows her to produce fixtures in novel shapes. The use of bronze and glass, meanwhile, enables her to create a softer and more diffuse glow than one might get with a typical LED lamp, giving her work an inviting feel.
When designing a piece, Barry begins with a simple hand sketch that conveys feeling rather than function. She then makes a model out of wires as well as a model on the computer, which she can digitally manipulate. Finally, metal is bent, rolled and hammered into the desired shape. After the metal is polished to a gleaming shine, the LEDs are integrated into the fixture.
The Business Post called Barry “one of Ireland’s most renowned contemporary artists.” She is among the most prolific names working in LED light sculpture and has been profiled in magazines like Galerie Magazine, Architectural Digest and MODERN Magazine. Since 2001, she has participated in several exhibitions a year, including Themes & Variations, FOG Art + Design and Salon Art + Design.
On 1stDibs, find Niamh Barry lighting and decorative objects.
Niamh Barry, "Fouette" Wall-Mounted Light Sculpture, Ireland, 2013
By Niamh Barry
Located in New York, NY
Fouette, a sconce in bronze, glass, and LED, is arranged in Barry’s signature composition of interconnected ellipses—in this case, uniform in shape, and suggestive, together, of the ...
Bronze
Niamh Barry, "Hull, " Bronze Wall-mounted Light Sculpture, Ireland, 2020
By Niamh Barry
Located in New York, NY
This extraordinary light sculpture, one of a series of strikingly beautiful pieces in blue patina, marks yet another departure for the groundbreaking Irish artist and designer, furth...
Bronze
Price Upon Request
Niamh Barry, "Gesture II" Wall-Mounted Light Sculpture, Ireland, 2018
By Niamh Barry
Located in New York, NY
In many of her most powerful sculptures Niamh Barry abandons her signature fluid ellipses for compositions of sharp angles arranged in dynamic, crisscrossing lines forms that suggest...
Bronze
Price Upon Request
Niamh Barry, "Vessel II" Wall-Mounted Light Sculpture, Ireland, 2017
By Niamh Barry
Located in New York, NY
Part of the Vessel series of light sculptures, this remarkable sconce in bronze has a warm concave bowl inset with a mirror-polished shade. The misshapen ovals complement one another...
Bronze
Moonlet Wall Light, Bronze
Located in New York, NY
Inspired by the glow of the full moon, this original, organic modernist design is crafted entirely by hand and features a cast glass diffuser set in a bronze "cradle" base.
Bronze
Jungle wall light
By Lladro
Located in New York City, NY
Wall lamp with a decorative design that transports us to a tropical rainforest. This highly decorative wall lamp features a relief inspired by wildlife. Combining a feline and a vari...
Porcelain
$2,800Sale Price|20% Off
H 29 in W 28.75 in D 8.75 in
Brutalist Wall Sculpture Light Sconce Tom Greene Brass Feldman Mid-Century
By Feldman Lighting Co., Tom Greene
Located in Wayne, NJ
Brutalist Mid-Century Modern Tom Greene brass huge wall sconce by Feldman. It doubles as a wall sculpture, when not not turned on. This plugs into an electrical outlet...
Brass
Wiener Werkstätte Secessionist Wall Light Flush Mount
By Wiener Werkstätte, Woka Lamps
Located in Vienna, AT
Lamp with this significant ornament All components according to the UL regulations, with an additional charge we will UL-list and label our fixtures. We produce the lamp in three di...
Brass
Green Wall Light in Bronze
By Atelier Boucquet
Located in Roeselare, BE
Wall fixture in chemical colored blue-green bronze with GU10 lamp 220v 50w or LED.
Bronze
Book Wall Light by Contain
Located in Geneve, CH
Book wall light by Contain Dimensions: D 9 x W 12 x H 10 cm Materials: Brass. Available in different finishes. All our lamps can be wired accord...
Brass
Quartz Wall Sconce II by Aver
Located in Geneve, CH
Quartz wall sconce II by Aver Dimensions: W 14 x D 16 x H 55 cm Materials: Natural rocks, high-quality cut crystals, jewelry chains, hand-blown glass, other. Also Available: Matte Bl...
Stone, Crystal, Other
Cone Wall Light by Contain
Located in Geneve, CH
Book XL double wall light by Contain Dimensions: D 12 x H 22 cm Materials: Brass. Available in different finishes. All our lamps can be wired according to each country. If sol...
Brass
Vistosi Puppet Wall Light
By Romani Saccani Architetti, Vistosi
Located in Mogliano Veneto, Treviso
Collection of lamps with blown glass diffuser with an original irregularly lined ‘dégradé’ finish. The arms of the chandelier are hung individually to customer demand. Specificati...
Blown Glass
Planette Wall 18 Alabaster Wall Light by Contain
Located in Geneve, CH
Planette Wall 18 Alabaster Wall Light by Contain Dimensions: Ø 18 x H 22 cm. Materials: Alabaster and brass. Also available in different finishes and dimensions (Ø12 cm / Ø16,5 ...
Alabaster, Brass
Planette Wall 12 Alabaster Wall Light by Contain
Located in Geneve, CH
Planette wall 12 alabaster wall light by Contain. Dimensions: D 12 x H 20 cm. Materials: alabaster, brass Also available in different finishes and dimensions (Ø12 cm / Ø16,5 cm / Ø18...
Alabaster, Brass
Square Wall Sconce or Flush Mount Light
Located in Vienna, AT
Steel painted frame fitted with two E27 bulbs for max. 100W each covered with two elements made of pressed and refined glass from the, early 1970s. It is possible to put several piec...
Steel
