David Kenneth Ireland (August 25, 1930 – May 17, 2009) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

conceptual art Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called insta ...

ist and

Minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Early life

Born in

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (locat ...

. He studied

Printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...

and

Industrial Arts Industrial arts is an educational program that features the fabrication of objects in wood or metal using a variety of hand, power, or machine tools. Industrial Arts are commonly referred to as Technology Education. It may include small engine rep ...

California College of Arts and Crafts California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...

(CCA), graduating in 1953 with his BFA degree. After college he attended United States Army service. After leaving the Army Ireland traveled Europe extensively, working as an illustrator, and eventually traveled to Africa to lead safari trips.

Work

It was not until his 40s that Ireland decided to dedicate himself to work as a full-time artist. He returned to the United States and returned to school, this time at the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

. Upon graduating from the

in 1974, Ireland spent a year working in New York, before returning to settle in San Francisco. 500 Capp St upstairs hallway

In 1975, Ireland purchased a

victorian house In Great Britain and former British colonies, a Victorian house generally means any house built during the reign of Queen Victoria. During the Industrial Revolution, successive housing booms resulted in the building of many millions of Victorian ...

built in 1886 from Paul John Greub, an accordion maker, for $50,000. The house is located at 500 Capp Street (20th Street and Capp Street) in the

Mission District The Mission District (Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as The Mission (Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name is ...

of San Francisco. In 1979, Ireland purchased another house at 65 Capp Street, which he transformed thoroughly. The house was purchased by art collector by Ann Hatch in 1982 and later used as an

artist residency Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

named

Capp Street Project Capp Street Project is an artist residency program that was originally located at 65 Capp Street in San Francisco, California. CSP was established as a program to nurture experimental art making in 1983 with the first visual arts residency in the ...

. In 1987, Ireland won the Adaline Kent award from San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI). 500 Capp St safe got away

Ireland is most well known for creating site-specific

installation art Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called ...

pieces; most notably, his former residence at 500 Capp Street in San Francisco, where his work is also shown at

Gallery Paule Anglim Anglim Trimble Gallery, formerly Gallery Paule Anglim, and Anglim Gilbert Gallery, is a contemporary commercial art gallery which is located at Minnesota Street Project, 1275 Minnesota Street, San Francisco, California The gallery was founded by P ...

. Moving between two and three dimensions within the same sculptures, Ireland explores concepts of scale and vision. Known for his wide range of materials, works are made from paint cans, phone books, metal, cement, wood and, even the skull of a water buffalo. In 1999, Ireland collaborated with sound artist

GX Jupitter-Larsen GX Jupitter-Larsen (sometimes erroneously spelled ''Juppiter-Larsen'') is an artist, based in Hollywood, California, who has been active in a number of underground art scenes since the late 1970s. Jupitter-Larsen has been involved in punk rock, ma ...

remixing and re-recording tapes from the audio archives of 500 Capp Street. The outcome was released as a CD on Vinyl Communications. To accompany Ireland's first solo exhibition in London,

Ridinghouse Ridinghouse is a British book publisher specialising in art. Ridinghouse’s publications are distributed by Cornerhouse in the UK and Europe, and by RAM Publications + Distribution, Inc. in North America. Company history Ridinghouse was found ...

published ''David Ireland: Sculptures, Paintings, Drawings''. This catalogue features a selection of Ireland's works from over four decades. An introduction to the work of this artist, this publication also includes an essay by Kenneth Baker, art critic of the

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

. One of his most prominent works Angel-Go-Round (1996) is in the permanent collection of di Rosa, Napa. In early 2016, the San Francisco Art Institute organized an exhibition of Ireland's work, in conjunction with the public opening of 500 Capp Street, now known as The David Ireland House.

Legacy

David Ireland’s house at 500 Capp Street was purchased by art collector Carlie Wilmans in 2008. Wilmans established the 500 Capp Street Foundation the same year to preserve and study his work. The house was restored in 2016 and turned into an exhibition venue named The David Ireland House.

References

External links

David Ireland: Sculptures, Paintings, Drawings

Headlands Center for the Arts

Capp Street Project
artist residency, at CCA's Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts
Video Tour
of David Ireland's 500 Capp St. project, from the UC Berkeley Bancroft Archives.

''Oral History''
of 500 Capp St., from UC Berkeley's Bancroft Archives.
KQED Arts ''Spark'' Profile

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080117204947/http://www.museumca.org/exhibit/exhi_ireland.html ''The Way Things Are: The Art of David Ireland'' Exhibition page from the Oakland Museum of California, summarizing the 2004 retrospective exhibition of Ireland's work.]
Selected works
by David Ireland in the collection of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
Interview with David Ireland by Terri Cohn

500 Capp Street – The David Ireland House
Book by Betty Klausner: "Touching Time and Space - a Portrait of David Ireland" 2003, www.chartartbooks.it {{DEFAULTSORT:Ireland, David 1930 births Culture of San Francisco 2009 deaths American installation artists San Francisco Art Institute alumni California College of the Arts alumni Artists from the San Francisco Bay Area People from Bellingham, Washington

Early life

Work

Legacy

See also

References

External links