Bernie Hurley is a visual artist based in County Waterford, Ireland. She holds an Honours Degree in Fine Art and Visual Studies and has maintained a painting practice alongside raising a family and working in the community as a project facilitator and teacher. This dual engagement with both art and community has informed her approach to creativity as something lived, shared, and deeply rooted in place.
Throughout her career, Hurley has continued to develop her skills through further study, workshops, and courses. More lately in Textile Arts at Crawford College of Art and Design, expanding her range of materials and methods while retaining a strong focus on landscape. She worked from her Old Parish studio for over three decades before relocating to the market town of Dungarvan in County Waterford in early 2020.
Dungarvan sits between the softened silhouette of the Commeragh Mountains and the long sandy beaches of the Copper Coast, a landscape that continues to feed her work. She has since rebuilt her studio in a quiet, green enclave a short walk from the lively town centre, a place known for its thriving food culture, music scene, and maritime character, allowing her to work near to both nature and community.
Since returning to regular studio practice her work has centred on abstracted landscapes. These she produces across a broad range of media, from watercolour monoprints and works on paper to larger-scale oil and acrylic canvases. These works are informed by the mountain ranges and open horizons of the southern coast, as well as a lifelong connection to the sea.
Her practice is increasingly research-led, drawing on Jay Appleton’s theory of prospect–refuge and an emerging interest in deep mapping, approaches that explore how landscape, memory, and perception shape both place and psyche. Through layered mark-making, texture, and light, Hurley seeks to create immersive spaces that invite viewers into a reflective experience of landscape as both physical environment and emotional refuge.
Bernie Hurley