Internationally acclaimed artist Corban Walker ‘excited’ to create new sculpture for Bushy Park
The new sculpture will be unveiled in Bushy Park, Terenure, next year
Artist Corban Walker's work has been displayed from Dublin to New York
An internationally recognised Irish artist has been awarded a prestigious commission to create a sculpture in one of Dublin’s most popular parks.
Corban Walker, a graduate of the National College of Art and Design (NCAD), was chosen after a two-stage competition to provide a sculpture in Bushy Park in Terenure.
His proposal is described as “an elegant, large-scale work” – eight metres in height – “based on many configurations of a cellular grid”.
Announcing the commission, Sculpture Dublin, an initiative of Dublin City Council, said Corban’s minimalist work “will enhance the reflective and meditative environment of the duck pond, and assert itself as a distinctive new feature of the park”.
Bushy Park dates back as far as 1700 and was purchased by Dublin Corporation – now Dublin City Council – in 1951.
Corban, from Beggars Bush on Haddington Road, told Independent.ie he was “delighted and honoured” to be awarded the commission and was proud to be able to create a new and significant public work in his own hometown.
He revealed the new sculpture will be located near the park’s pond, close to mature oak and willow trees.
“For a long time I have wanted to create an artwork in a public park and I am very excited to be working with Sculpture Dublin and Dublin City Council’s Parks and Landscape Services on such a great project,” he said.
“The sculpture will engage with the public in its slender presence and reflect the remarkable environment of Bushy Park.”
Work on the sculpture is expected to take up to 10 months to complete and Corban hopes it will be unveiled in spring 2022.
Since the mid-1990s, Corban has gained recognition for his installations, sculptures and drawings using industrial materials.
He has exhibited in many museums and galleries and has received public art commissions worldwide.
His work is also part of numerous public and private collections, including at the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum in New York and IMMA in Dublin.
Corban, who is a member of the artists’ association Aosdána, represented Ireland at the Venice Biennale in 2011 and received the Pollock Krasner Award in 2015.
The Crawford Art Gallery in Cork will present an exhibition of his work in 2022.
