The Glucksman: One of Cork’s Sweet-spots.

Written by Kinga Pelowska . Arts & Culture correspondent . 31/12/25

As soon as I swung the heavy metal door open a sense of stillness washed over me. Around this time of year - where every shop, café and street is filled with people trying to tick off everything from their Christmas to-do list, it can be hard to find a place where one can slow down and just be. For me one of those places has always been The Glucksman gallery. Opened in 2004 the gallery has served generations of artists, newcomer and established alike. Professor John O’Halloran, UCC’s president, has described the collaboration between the university and the gallery as having great importance on the creative spirit and the value of the Glucksman as an internationally significant space for the exploration, understanding and enjoyment of contemporary art.

To me The Glucksman has always been, what I like to call, a Cork sweet-spot. It’s just on the periphery of the city, close enough to stroll to if the weather allows but far enough to get away from city madness. With one side of the gallery offering views of the river Lee and the other looking out onto the historic UCC campus, both views accompanied by the faint sound of city noise. It’s small enough not take up the whole day but has enough to offer its visitors to easily lose track of time and on a sunny December afternoon that is exactly what I needed.

The Glucksman is home to a constant rotation of contemporary art. Currently housing Eilis O’Connell’s latest exhibition entitled Happenstance, curated by Katie O’Grady. A collection of pieces across each era of O’Connell’s life as an artist, a coincidental medley of pieces that aims to, in O’Connell’s words, bring joy and curiosity to the observer. Born in Derry O’Connell moved to Cork at the age of ten where she later studied sculpture at the Crawford School of Art. It was there where she found her passion for large scale sculptors, which later developed into abstract public works and commissions. In an interview for The Glucksman, O’Connell said that she has always been fascinated by the natural world, growing up in rural Derry offered little to no stimulation, this connection between nature and artist has been kept

alive for over four decades.

As I explored the exhibition it became evident that O’Connell didn’t gravitate towards one genre, there was no one medium or material that overpowered the space. Instead, there was an even distribution of sculptures varying in grandeur made of marble, wood, stainless steel, and even occasionally, rubber. No matter the medium the connection to nature was evident without being forced.

A standout piece for me was a sculpture called Bounce created in 2010, made of stainless steel, mesh wool and wood. Hung up on a wall the steel folded within the frame and resembled ripples in water, however, what stood out to me the most was the fact that O’Connell sourced that particular piece of steel all the way back in the 80s. I later learned that O’Connell has what she likes the call her Shed of Inspiration, a place to hoard any scrap of material that might come in useful at some point in time, even if it’s thirty years later. As the artist herself said in a short film accompanying the exhibition “my life affects my work, wherever I’m going or what I see that excites me comes into my work, and that’s not something I can control”.

The exhibition’s name reinforces the artist’s belief of life and the progress of her work being coincidental. It is a thought I kept nestled at the back of my mind as I took in O’Connell’s work and that thought has not left me even until now. And I have a suspicious feeling I will be taking it with me not only into the new year but into every era of my life.

You can explore O’Connell’s exhibition Happenstance at The Glucksman until April 12th, 2026.