Cleary and her partner Denis Connolly, both architects by education, have developed an art practice centred on observer participation.
Their work addresses a heterogeneous public and often involves collaboration with artists from other disciplines, in particular dancers (such as Cindy Cummings), writers (such as the poet Derry O'Sullivan), musicians (such as DinahBird and Jean-Philippe Renaud) and craftsmen (such as carriage-builder Neil McKenzie).
They are among Ireland's foremost new-media artists, regularly incorporating innovative new technologies into their work to produce art that is both engaging and significant.
Cleary Connolly's work is always participatory art, both in its creative process and in its final engagement with the spectator.
Over the last five years they have been awarded more than a dozen public commissions, in Ireland, Britain and France, each involving a participative process as well as the creation and installation of one or several permanent artworks.