Eilis O' Connell was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. She studied sculpture at the Crawford School of Art, Cork and the Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, U.S.A.
O'Connell was granted research fellowships at The British School at Rome and P.S.I. in New York. A two-year residency at Delfina Studios London in 1988 resulted in her permanent move to the city until 2002, after which she returned to live in Ireland. She frequently exhibits abroad and works on commissions for both public and private locations.
O'Connell has shown at multiple international festivals and institutions, representing both the UK and Ireland at the Venice, Paris and Sao Paolo Biennales. Some of her small sculptures have also been shown at the Guggenheim Museum in Venice. In 2018, her outdoor sculptures were shown at E1027 the home designed by Eileen Grey in Cap Martin, France, for which she recieved the Culture Ireland Award.
Her work can be seen in several public locations in London, Cardiff, Newcastle, Bristol, Wolverhampton, Southampton, Milton Keynes, Dublin, Belfast, Dundalk, Mallow and Cork. Other privately commissioned works can be seen at Lismore Castle in Ireland, Cass Sculpture Foundation, Chatsworth House, and Antony House.
In her latest exhibition at Pangolin London, 'Breath becomes Air', O' Connell experiments with her signature themes of curvature, edges, and the 'landscape' of sculpture, working primarily with Carrarra marble. “I think of air as a material to work with, and that is a huge challenge when working in stone”, shared O'Connell. View the exhibition page here.
She is a former member of the Arts Council of Ireland, a member of Aosdána, and a member of the R.H.A.