Marianne O’Kane Boal looks at the work of Tinka Bechert, which operates in the liminal space of form, abstraction and play
John Rainey appraises the varied sculptural practice of artist Blaine O’Donnell
Cristín Leach visits Eilis O’Connell’s exhibition, which presents nature and geometry, capture and flow, environmental and human-made forms
Paula Murphy considers the work of acclaimed Irish-American sculptor Thomas Crawford
Philip Quinn tells Eamonn Maxwell his sculptures are maps of the memories and landscapes of his childhood
From the outset, Rachel Joynt’s work has been characterised by a sense of the infinite and the immediate, writes Peter Murray
St Mary’s Cathedral in Tuam, Co Galway is a veritable shrine of Romanesque art, writes Roger Stalley
Paula Murphy celebrates the work of one of Ireland’s most esteemed sculptors, John Henry Foley
Peter Murray journeys to sculptor Michael Quane’s studio in Cork, which provides an insight into his inspirations and method of working
Vivienne Roche’s approach is formally beautiful and seemingly straightforward in its address, but opens onto profound and unsettling ideas about time, loss and persistence, writes Sarah Kelleher
Aidan Dunne discovers how artist Ursula Burke uses the Classical tradition to reveal problematic and troubled realities
Lynsay-Erin Mercer’s careful and meticulous process mirrors the consideration and depth of her conceptualisation, writes Isabella Evangelisti
Gabriel Hayes was invariably identified in the press as a woman, wife, mother and grandmother before being acknowledged as an artist, which distracted from serious critical reception of her work, writes Paula Murphy
Paula Murphy celebrates the work of Imogen Stuart over the course of her six-decade career
Laurence Campbell was an enigmatic figure, markedl y different from his peers, writes Paula Murphy
‘I just can’t cut myself off from the real world, what’s happening around me – there is that underlying anxiety,’ sculptor Tom Fitzgerald tells Mike Fitzpatrick
Joe Butler’s career shows a total dedication to his pursuit of open, direct metal sculpture, writes John Behan
Olivia Musgrave’s interest in the Classics greatly informs her sculptures, writes Peter Murray
The map patterns in her work, although abstract in appearance, are accurate and can still be read, Michelle Byrne tells Carissa Farrell
Anna Campbell has maintained a remarkable consistency in terms of both technical skill and artistic vision, writes Riann Coulter
John Rainey tells Michael Waldron that he designs environments for his work to exist in, thereby reversing the dynamic so that we exist within their world for a period of time
Marcel Vidal finds that a thread of instability runs through Freida Breen’s sculptural practice
The sea’s characteristics, particularly its unpredictability and perpetual rhythm, continuously inspire, Alva Gallagher tells Carissa Farrell
‘I knew from the age of three what I wanted to do,‚’ sculptor Carolyn Mulholland tells Brian McAvera
Sculptor Eilis O’Connell uses digital technology to show her work in an experimental and groundbreaking way, writes Jennifer Gof
Rachel Thomas interviews Richard Malone, an artist who works across the media of sculpture, fashion and performance, pushing the boundaries of traditional sculpture.
Carissa Farrell explores the civic values inherent in Rachel Joynt’s soon-to-be-unveiled 1916 commemorative commission, Dearcán na nDaoine, for the grounds of Áras an Uachtaráin
While the display of sculpture at the re-opened National Gallery is impressive, what is on view is but a fraction of the collection, writes paula Murphy
Marianne O’Kane Boal previews Simon McWilliams’ exhibition at the Naughton Gallery, Belfast where architectonic forms rendered in intense colour project a Kafkaesque scenario
Paula Murphy examines the political character of Oliver Sheppard’s work as exemplified by Cuchulainn and his all’antica portrayal of Padraig Pearse
Christiaan Corlett tracks the handiwork of stone cutter James Butler beyond the previously understood confines of north Wexford
Colin Darke tells Brian McAvera how seeing a burning cigarette paper sparked an idea for an expressive means of communication
Sculpture and glass are part of Killian Schürmann’s DNA. Paula Murphy visits his studio as he finalizes his most ambitious project to date, for University College Dublin
Beyond their arresting materiality new works from John Gibbons convey his interest in spiritual and religious history, writes Luke Naessens
Paula Murphy celebrates the work of Imogen Stuart over the course of her six-decade career
Julian Campbell finds that sculptor Peter McTigue’s traditional methods belie a resolutely Modernist vision.
Paula Murphy considers the work of Irish American Edmond T Quinn, one of the leading sculptors of his generation
Maud Cotter’s sculptures loom large without being monumental, writes Sarah Kelleher ahead of the artist’s exhibition at Limerick City Gallery of Art this autumn
Carissa Farrell discovers an inexhaustible fascination at the heart of Remco de Fouw’s practice with gravity, physics and the cosmos
Research into theoretical principles across the fields of art, science and aesthetics imbue Nuala O’Donovan’s work, writes Mark Ewart
Anita Groener’s strength lies in a total focus on her theme and her art, an art that draws in and challenges the viewer, writes Judith Hill
‘I want to make sculpture that transends its scale, and that has a soul’: Anthony Scott tells Brian McAvera about his purpose in creating sculpture
Angela Griffith reflects on the multifaceted practice of Alex Pentek, whose work ranges from the solidity of public art to the floating paper sculpture currently on view at the RhA
Linda Brunker’s female avatars affirm nature and spirit. Mark Ewart talks to the Irish sculptor as she departs California for France
Kevin Francis Gray’s debt to classical sculpture is both obvious and complicated, writes Riann Coulter in anticipation of the Armagh-born artist’s first exhibition on this island.
Eilís O’Connell is widely admired for expanding the language of sculpture; here she tells Brian McAvera ‘Gravity is my dearest enemy’ ahead of her participation in ‘Ark’ this summer at Chester Cathedral
Carissa Farrell visits the studio of sculptor Catherine Greene where the magic of transforming abstract idea into plastic form takes place.
Weird, slightly nauseating yet also beautiful; Francis Halsall looks forward to Siobhán Hapaska’s autumn exhibition at the Kerlin Gallery, Dublin.
George Warren’s approach to art is influenced and inspired by his interest in analytical psychology, writes Robert Armstrong.
Mark Ewart visits the studio of Allihies-based artist Rachel Parry who transforms natural matter into mesmerizing art.
Michael Waldron tracks the shaping of John Hogan’s national art as championed by Young Irelander Thomas Davis
Seán Kissane reflects on the career of Gerda Frömel whose handling of form echoes Brancusi’s statement ‘Beauty is absolute equity.’
Many principles came into force to guide the shaping of UL’s outdoor sculpture collection, not least the overarching vision of Ed Walsh. Judith Hill gives an insight into its conception
Reflecting on a career marked by invention and experiment, distinguished sculptor Bob Sloan tells Brian McAvera, ‘I find working in the studio as difficult as ever. Nothing comes easy’
This month Dorothy Cross delves into our national collections to create a show for IMMA,here she tells Brian McAvera ‘Sometimes I need extreme new experiences to find new directions,’ while the show continues into March 2015
Ursula Burke, Emma Donaldson and Deirdre McKenna explore the mutable topic of time at the F E McWilliam Gallery, Banbridge. Claire Dalton looks at their responses
Carissa Farrell is transfixed by the shard-like glass birds and decayed flowers that combine to fascinating effect in Graham Gingles’s signature boxes at the Hamilton Gallery, Sligo
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Former marine biologist John Coll turned to sculpture in order to enhance his understanding of nature, writes Gerry Walker
Carissa Farrell reports on sculptor and multi-media artist Andrew Kearney’s new installation ‘Tell Me Something’ for Limerick City of Culture, which continues Kearney’s focus on the policing of the private individual
What is it about the work of the Irish sculptor Eilís O’Connell that has led to her having created, in this most difficult and masculine medium, over thirty permanent site-specific installations in Britain and Europe, including the sensual, orchid-like Unfurl (Fig 1), a bronze commissioned by Kensington Borough Council and the residents of Kensington Gate, to celebrate the Millennium?
O’Connell subtly combines a number of different elements that give her work both a sense of physical vitality and poetic metaphor. It is monumental yet intimate, atavistic yet contemporary. From discarded agricultural tools to birds’ nests and whale bones she appropriates the quotidian and the natural to create dynamic forms in stone, steel, resin, plaster and bronze. Like her poetic compatriot, Seamus Heaney, O’Connell looks to the archaeology and topography of her Irish homeland for inspiration but the ideas she finds there are filtered through a considered relationship to architecture and geometry. The work is never soft: emotion is always tempered by intellect and painstaking technique to combine something of the muscularity of Richard Serra with the female sensibility of Barbara Hepworth. Science and mathematics meet the natural world within her organic and biomorphic forms. Inside and outside coalesce. In the layered and slippery space of contemporary culture she has created objects that generate a unifying narrative and suggest a philosophy of interdependence rather than of confrontation, an openness and desire for contact and inclusivity, rather than a brittle postmodern autonomy, which unapologetically recalls the timeless resonances of Brancusi.