89
WHYTES
SINCE 1783
,
123
Rowan Gillespie (
b.
1953)
MAQUETTE FOR “ASPIRATION”
[
TREASURY BUILDING, DUBLIN], 1995
bronze on polished granite; (no. 3 from an
edition of 9)
signed, numbered and dated at the base
83.50
by 13 by 18in. (212.09 by 33.02 by
45.72
cm)
What is interesting about this rare maquette is
that it shows the original figure for the
Treasury Building was intended to be a man.
This single polished granite slab shows a
female figure scaling the wall on one side and
a male on the reverse.The site specific
commission is located on the historic site of
Boland’s Mills. The image of the naked girl
climbing a vertical wall was inspired by W.B.
Yeats’ literary personification of Ireland,
Cathleen Ní Houlihan. For Gillespie the piece
also carries a more contemporary message
about a rapidly developing Ireland at that time
(1995).
The figure’s pose and sexuality have
prompted modern audiences to draw links
with Frank Miller’s
Batman
or Bram Stoker’s
Dracula.
The 12 foot structure was erected by
the artist in 1995 where it remains today.
For further reading see:
Kohn, Roger,
Rowan Gillespie, Looking for
Orion,
O’Brien Press, Dublin, 2007, p.79
(
illustrated)
€
10,000-
€
15,000
(
£8,000-£12,500 approx)
Ex lot 123 (detail) obverse
Ex lot 123 (detail) reverse