Eilís O'Connell
Eilís O’Connell explores a plethora of materials and processes in her work. She hoards found objects such as discarded agricultural tools and dairy vessels, which may eventually find their way into her sculpture or become an inspiration for a form or texture. She teases the most extraordinary forms out of various materials, from stone and rubber to steel cord, sheet metals, glass and plaster for casting in bronze. O’Connell looks to archaeology, architecture and geometry, in addition to smaller objects and materials, for beginnings to both her large and small works. These may be vast or a mere pinpoint on the landscape.
While O’Connell has exhibited widely, with numerous solo and group shows since the early seventies, she has established her career largely through public commissions. With more than 20 major commissions to her credit, the most significant being Secret Station, a sculpture in bronze, fiber optics and steam for Cardiff Bay Art Trust, sited at the Gateway, Cardiff, 1992. O’Connell’s solo exhibition “Haptic,” Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin, 2011, was critically acclaimed. O'Connell is a founding director of the National Sculpture Factory in Cork and a member of the RHA. Her awards include Arts Council of Northern Ireland …
Eilís O’Connell explores a plethora of materials and processes in her work. She hoards found objects such as discarded agricultural tools and dairy vessels, which may eventually find their way into her sculpture or become an inspiration for a form or texture. She teases the most extraordinary forms out of various materials, from stone and rubber to steel cord, sheet metals, glass and plaster for casting in bronze. O’Connell looks to archaeology, architecture and geometry, in addition to smaller objects and materials, for beginnings to both her large and small works. These may be vast or a mere pinpoint on the landscape.
While O’Connell has exhibited widely, with numerous solo and group shows since the early seventies, she has established her career largely through public commissions. With more than 20 major commissions to her credit, the most significant being Secret Station, a sculpture in bronze, fiber optics and steam for Cardiff Bay Art Trust, sited at the Gateway, Cardiff, 1992. O’Connell’s solo exhibition “Haptic,” Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin, 2011, was critically acclaimed. O'Connell is a founding director of the National Sculpture Factory in Cork and a member of the RHA. Her awards include Arts Council of Northern Ireland Fellowship, 1983–84, the PS1, New York, Arts Council Fellowship, 1987–88, and the Royal Society of Arts, 1998. In 1996, she had sculpture residencies at the Centre du Sculpture, Montlieu, France, and Delfina Studios, Manilva, Spain.
Courtesy of CASS Sculpture Foundation
