Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is delighted to present an exhibition of new works by Vanessa Donoso López – A rock can hurt you, a rock can open a nut. Over recent years working across Ireland and Spain, Vanessa Donoso López has shaped her latest installation – a gathering of works deeply rooted in the land, its people and their shared cultural heritage. This collection, comprising over 1,000 pieces includes archaeological artefacts and a series of marbled shapes that echo the intricate patterns found on petrified objects and rocks.

Vanessa has used ‘stucco marmo’, a 17th-century Italian polished plaster technique, to make the artefacts. They are presented in wire cage structures creating an archaeological like installation. Some clay pieces have been hand-moulded by local communities and schools both in Spain and Ireland using locally sourced clay. The clay that was once a rock turns back into rock and into fossilised objects.

In a world where migrant journeys often oscillate between physical dislocation and virtual connection, the creation and experience of physical objects offers an anchor to the real – to the here and now. Like a rock that can wound or serve, the migrant’s relationship with the land is one of duality – offering grounding and uncertainty, refuge and resistance.

Vanessa Donoso López (born Barcelona, Spain) lives and works between Dublin and Barcelona. Vanessa obtained a B.A. Fine Arts, Winchester School of Art, England, 2002-2004; B.A. Fine Arts, University of Barcelona,1998-2002; and a Sculpture Diploma, School of Arts and Design, LLOTJA, Barcelona, 1997-2002. Vanessa has exhibited nationally and internationally. Recent solo exhibitions include ‘I shall change the way things are ordered’, Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, Dublin, 2022 and ‘Cuando uno roca se rompe se convierte en mas piedras’, Galeria Herroro deTejada, Madrid, 2021.

Vanessa has been awarded a Three Year Membership Studio Award at Temple Bar Galleries + Studios, Dublin in 2025. She is represented by Kevin Kavanagh Gallery, Dublin.

The Gallery Learning Programme offers many opportunities for people of all ages to interact with the gallery in different ways, learning about and trying out different art-making techniques. For further information go to www.dlrcoco.ie/arts.