Eilis O'Connell (born 1953,
Derry
Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
) is an abstract sculptor. She is known for her free-standing works and wall pieces.
Early life and education
O'Connell was born in Derry and educated at the
Crawford School of Art,
Cork, Ireland and
Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Massachusetts College of Art and Design, branded as MassArt, is a public college of visual and applied art in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1873, it is one of the nation's oldest art schools, and the only publicly funded independent art sch ...
,
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, USA.
Career
O'Connell has been commissioned to make public sculptures throughout the UK and Ireland.
She is a founder director of the
National Sculpture Factory (Cork); a member of
Aosdána
Aosdána ( , ; from , 'people of the arts') is an Irish association or academy of artists, each of whom must have produced a distinguished body of work of genuine originality. It was created in 1981 by the country's Arts Council on the initiati ...
and the
Royal Hibernian Academy
The Royal Hibernian Academy of Arts (RHA) is an artist-based and artist-oriented institution in Ireland, founded in Dublin in 1823. Like many other Irish institutions, such as the Royal Irish Academy, the academy retained the word "Royal" after mo ...
; and a former member of the
Arts Council of Ireland
The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts".
About
It was established in 1951 by the government of Ireland, to encourage interest in Irish art ( ...
.
Her honours include the Art & Work Award from Wapping Arts Trust, and
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...
Award (1998). O'Connell's works were displayed at the
Biennale de Paris (1982) and the São Paulo Art Biennial (1985).
She has received fellowships from British School at Rome, The British School at Rome and MoMA PS1, PS 1 in New York.
The artist's 1988 work "''The Great Wall of Kinsale'' is one of the most contentious public artworks ever erected in Ireland."
Composed of several sections and forms, it is also the longest sculpture in Ireland at 179 feet. The large rusted steel sculpture drew protest, concerns of safety, an attempt to deinstall it, and criticism of its appearance. Eventually, the rusty metal was painted, a water feature was added, and barriers were placed around it without O'Connell's permission. As such, she considers the work to have been "destroyed".
In artist Sean Lynch (artist), Sean Lynch's 2011 show, ''A Rocky Road,'' at the Crawford Art Gallery, he investigated the legacy of O'Connell's ''Great Wall of Kinsale''.
She exhibited sculptures at Eileen Gray's E-1027 house in France in 2018.
O'Connell's work is in the collections of Irish Museum of Modern Art, IMMA, Lismore Castle, Cass Sculpture Foundation, Chatsworth House, Chatsworth, Antony House and more.
See also
* List of public art in the City of London
* List of public art in Bristol
* List of public art in Cork city
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
*
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnell, Eilis
1953 births
Living people
Artists from Derry (city)
Women sculptors from Northern Ireland
Irish abstract sculptors
Alumni of Cork Institute of Technology
Massachusetts College of Art and Design alumni
Aosdána members
Contemporary artists from Northern Ireland
21st-century women artists from Northern Ireland