‘Everything that is beautiful has something creepy about it or something unsettling underneath,’ Vera Klute talks to Brian McAvera about her aesthetic
Brian McAvera: Vera, you are currently working on three Public Art projects: a sculpture
of Luke Kelly for Dublin city centre; a bust of Eileen Gray commissioned for a
location in France; and a set of sculptures for the entrance hall of the new children’s
hospital in Dublin. How far can a personal response operate within the confines of
Public Art?
Vera Klute: The Luke Kelly sculpture is to be positioned at the end of Sheriff Street near the Convention Centre. The brief from Dublin City Council (DCC) was
quite open to all kinds of formats which was great. The Gray was specifically commissioned as a bust but it didn’t have to conform to the standard format. The architectural concept for the new children’s hospital is ‘based on a wonderful garden in the sky’ and that’s what I took as a starting point. There was a lot of freedom with this as the commissioners were quite open to materials and ideas. The good thing about short-listing is that you can propose whatever you like. If they like it, that’s great and if not, they will choose something else. I feel it’s always better to submit an idea for something that I am interested in myself rather than second-guessing what a commissioner might like.
Comhghall Casey is a keeper of ordinary things made extraordinary through his art, writes Isabella Evangelisti ahead of his exhibition at Solomon Fine Art this autumn
Christian Dupont reflects on the personal and political desires conveyed in two cartoons by Grace Gifford Plunkett
Recently elected ARHA Sinéad Ní Mhaonaigh is proof that the outward appearance of Academicians may change but the concern with discipline remains constant, Niamh NicGhabhann reports