Irish-British artist Luke Alen-Buckley (b. 1987) studied at the Slade School of Art (Foundation, 2005) and Edinburgh School of Art (2006) before completing a BSc in Physics at Herriot-Watt University (2011). He returned to sculpture in 2014.
His practice is informed by an understanding of structure, mass, and equilibrium developed through his training in physics. He works with local 340-million-year-old glacial erratic boulders and blue Irish limestone, also known as Kilkenny marble.
“Carving limestone by hand is an act of intimacy and resistance, a slow negotiation with matter.”
Alen-Buckley treats stone as an expressive partner, carving and polishing to reveal fluid surfaces, embedded fossils, and emergent forms. Since 2019, he has developed three concurrent bodies of work: Memento Mori, Talisman and most recently Doors of Perception.
In 2022, he realised The Morrígan, a 45-tonne, public-facing sculptural work as part of a solo exhibition at Nevill Holt, Leicestershire. Recent permanent commissions include works for Killua Castle, Co. Westmeath (2024), Colstoun House, East Lothian (2021), and The Groucho Club, London (2020). In 2026, he was shortlisted for the 8th John Ruskin Prize.
