James Earley finds himself in the enviable position of working as a designer, street artist, gallerist and, most recently, as an event organiser. His work spans across his own interests, from traditional graphic design to his new project, Iverna, an online gallery for contemporary Irish artworks.
Having graduated from NCAD, Earley felt that “being a graphic designer and strictly working within the constraints of that profession” was too limiting for him. Although he acknowledges that that graphic design is “a far more open and fluid profession” than he had initially thought was the case, a strong interest in graffiti and painting large outdoor works, made it “tricky to marry the two”.
Acknowledging the crossover that does exist between his work as an artist and as a designer, Earley’s focus has shifted to the latter. “In my college days, my graffiti painting informed my graphic design and visa versa. In more recent years I have found that the logic and order within the creative process of graphic design has really helped to inform my painting practice. However, I am finding more and more, that I am slowing down on my design work and am being drawn to creating more self-directed projects where I have a large amount of creative control. Regarding boundaries between the two, I think the level of complete creative control and the client you’re working with usually determines this outcome.’
“In my experience challenges within the profession of a street artist are few and far between when compared with design jobs. Once a clear brief or outline has been agreed on a painting project, I’m largely left to my own devices after a design has been signed off. There are less moving elements within a painting project, it’s a faster pace and clients usually put greater level of trust in your abilities. I think it’s due to the fact that it’s a more specialised profession and possibly that if you mess things up it’s going to happen on a larger and more visible scale!”
Earley’s large-scale work graces the walls of Facebook’s Dublin office, and the entire exterior wall of Bloom’s Hotel in Temple Bar – a project that took almost a year to complete. The very public nature of this work has led to more and more commissions for Earley: “The opportunities that come from these projects far outweigh those of a designer as each large-scale painted work acts as a massive advertisement for the artist.” Now, Earley has turned his attention to his latest project an online gallery called Iverna, where he sells prints created by Irish artists and designers.
As part of the work around Iverna, Earley is organising a new talks series – The Sunday Edition – in the Dean Hotel. The hotel itself is adorned with an extensive collection of prints and artworks, a collection that Earley himself curated when it opened in 2014. So far this year there have been several new initiatives in this area, as well as the ever popular (and undeniably dominant) Offset. Earley is keen to do some that like his own practice, touches more on the artistic side of design practice. “We have been spoilt with some amazing international and national calibre Offset has provided and recently, the sheer energy and variety of Socialise [from ICAD]. However, these cover different creative sectors to what I have planned. The Sunday Edition is the a series of talks promoting emerging contemporary Irish artists. As the name suggests, these will take place on a Sunday (afternoon) and are a relaxed affair from 2pm to 5.30pm. Two speakers will talk about their process, influences and work for 40 minutes each, with a break in between and a period afterwards to give people a chance to meet and talk to them. The format is by no means reinventing the wheel, but the content within the format makes it unique.”
Talking about and reflecting on process in the public arena is something that Earley identifies as having a value to the speaker, just as much as the audience. ‘It certainly wasn’t something that came instinctively to me, but understanding why you create, your motivations, your goals and intent is what gives a designer or artist focus. Without this self awareness a designer or artist can’t build on their past creative successes.’
To see more of James’ various projects and platorms, visit jamesearleyart.com, inputout.com and iverna.ie
Words: David Wall
