Rowan Gillespie (b.1953)
The Kiss (1990)
Bronze, 41cm high (16") on a circular limestone base
Signed, dated 1990 and numbered 8/9

Provenance: Sale, these rooms 3/12/2008, lot no. 77, where purchased...

Rowan Gillespie (b.1953)
The Kiss (1990)
Bronze, 41cm high (16") on a circular limestone base
Signed, dated 1990 and numbered 8/9

Provenance: Sale, these rooms 3/12/2008, lot no. 77, where purchased by the current owners

‘Three sculptors were commissioned by architects Burke-Kennedy Doyle to produce a sculpture each for the new complex opposite the Concert Hall in Dublin. As Rowan was driving past the site one day he saw a young couple kissing. A simple kiss therefore provided the inspiration for what has since become an immensely popular public sculpture. The pedestal is only slightly raised above the ground, so that the figures may more readily be identified by their fellow man. The lips do not quite touch, creating the deeply personal space of a shared breath. Khalil Gibran’s book ‘The Prophet’ was foremost in Rowan’s mind as he portrayed two people growing together gently like the trees in a forest, in stark contrast to ‘The Lovers’, Edvard Munch’s aggressively violent kiss in which the vampire-like girl virtually consumes her beau in a frenzy of passion.’ 

 

Extract from Rowan Gillespie; Looking for Orion, with thanks to the artist

 

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