Helen O’Connell is an award-winning Irish sculptor with studios in Dublin and neighbouring County Wicklow, Ireland. Much of her work is in Irish Kilkenny limestone, a beautifully versatile material composed of marine life compressed over thousands of years, when the island of Ireland was still attached to mainland Europe. A native Dubliner, she graduated from Trinity College Dublin before surrendering to a fascination with sculpture. Determined to learn the ancient craft of stone carving, she spent several years studying in Ireland before attending the world famous Nicoli studios in Carrara, Italy where she immersed herself in the skills and expertise of generations of artisans. An increasing love of marble subsequently led her to the quarries of Alentejo in Portugal where the indigenous stone is renowned for its unique veining, coloration and particularities and these incredible pieces of layered history are carefully hand picked for specific works.

“Stone for me is a mythical, timeless and layered repository of past experience and I am so compelled by the energy it holds that I return time and again to this chosen medium. The veining in marble can signify a geological shift, a lingering echo of the monumental processes of earth and time that were involved in the formation of these stones. I discover fossils as I chip, tap and sculpt. Mother Nature continues to be my most admired sculptor and I strive to create something as beautiful and perfect as a pebble. Nothing is so aesthetically satisfying to me as a dry stone wall in the West of Ireland or as comforting to touch as a perfectly smooth pebble from a beach. I am inexplicably drawn to this medium”

Much of O’Connell’s recent work explores the pure yet ceremonial qualities of the vessel and the unadorned magnificence of Kilkenny limestone is implicit in the light yet unyielding permanence of these forms. The artist is compelled by the energy this timeless material holds and the inspiration of sculptors such as Isamu Noguichi is evident in these minimal forms.

O’Connell’s work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and art institutions throughout Ireland and Europe including the Royal Hibernia Academy and the galleries of the Craft Council of Ireland. Her work is featured in many private collections both in Ireland and abroad including that of Bono and Anne Madden and is now in the permanent art collections of the Irish Embassy in Washington, DC.