Profiles of Artists exhibiting at The Beauly Gallery

Profile of John O'Connor

Born in Cork, Ireland in 1956, John was educated at Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork, and the University of Ulster. He is a member of the National Sculptors Society of Ireland and the National Sculpture Factory, he has exhibited his work both nationally and internationally. Since 2000 he has been awarded 19 major Public Art commissions  six of which where awarded in 2005.

The natural environment and landscape have always played an integral part in the development of my work both as a sculptor and photographer. What particularly interests me is how Man has left his mark on the landscape and how he has altered this environment through the ages with agriculture, technology and the built environment. I am particularly influenced by archaeological sites in Ireland such as Newgrange, Knowth and the Ceide Fields.

There is a huge diversity and wealth of evidence documenting Man's impact on the landscape in ancient Ireland and how he has decorated his dwellings and funerary constructions. These ancient burial chambers are decorated with spirals, chevrons and zigzag patterns. The siting of these ancient sites is evidence of the vast knowledge and respect that these early people had for the environment in which they lived. Their art formed an integral part of their everyday lives. Their art was essentially about a sense of place.  My sculptures strive to emulate these elements (in modern context) between the work and the environment in which it is placed. I believe that public art should be site specific and that each work should reflect the social, historical, and cultural elements of the locality in which it is placed.

The works are primarily fabricated from stainless steel which is a very durable material. I combine this with stone (granite or limestone) to create interesting combinations of materials. Lighting is also an integral part of the work adding a further dimension to the piece this is done with fibre optics. Smaller works, consisting of wall pieces and 'table pieces', would generally feature other materials also such as native Irish timbers, found objects, metals, fibre-optics and glass. These generally consist of constructed metal forms, intuitively assembled together in such a way as to create equilibrium of tension, balance, positive and negative space. The resulting forms are also at least in part derived from the ancient symbols found in Irish pre-historic art.