Cork artist Dorothy Cross elected Saoi of Aosdána for 'rich and invaluable contributions to arts'
President Connolly, Dorothy Cross and Arts Council Chair, Maura McGrath. Picture: Tony Maxwell.
The election of visual artist Dorothy Cross as Saoi of Aosdána was celebrated at a ceremony presided over by President of Ireland Catherine Connolly on Wednesday.
President Connolly presented Cross with the symbol of the office, a gold Torc, at a ceremony at the Arts Council's offices in Dublin on Wednesday morning.
The honour is bestowed for singular and sustained distinction in the arts.
Born in Cork in 1956, Cross works in sculpture, film and photography, examining the relationship between living beings and the natural world.
Cross received a BA from Leicester Polytechnic, England, in 1979 and an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute, California, in 1982.
Her best-known works include the Udder series: sculptures using cow udders, from 1992 – 1994 and the Ghostship that was moored in Dublin Bay in 1999.
One of her works, Virgin Shroud, is in the collection of the Tate Modern in London, and she has represented Ireland at the Venice Biennale (1992) and the Istanbul Biennale (1997).
Now living in Connemara, Cross sees nature, the ocean and the body as sites of constant change, her works inspired by the unexpected encounters between plants, animals, body parts and everyday objects, incorporating classical materials such as Carrara marble, cast bronze or gold leaf alongside discarded antiques, old boats, washed-up jellyfish, whale bones or animal skins found on the shore.
Speaking at the ceremony, President Connolly said: “As President of Ireland, I am delighted to present Dorothy Cross with the Golden Torc, the symbol of Saoi of Aosdana, reflecting a lifetime of outstanding creative work and the esteem in which she is held by her artistic peers.
“I congratulate her on being chosen for this well-deserved honour and, on behalf of the people of Ireland, I thank her for her artistry.”
Chair of the Arts Council, Maura McGrath, acknowledged the 22 Saoithe that have been elected to date, and said she was delighted to announce that Cross’s election brings that number to 23.
“Dorothy Cross is the eighth Saoi in the discipline of visual art, proving her rich and invaluable contributions to the arts in Ireland,” she said.
The current Saoithe are Roger Doyle (music), elected in 2019; Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin (literature), elected in 2022; and Paul Muldoon (literature), elected in 2024. Cross’s election brings the total of current Saoithe to four.
The ceremony was attended by many of Cross’s colleagues, family and friends, as well as Arts Council Director Moling Ryan, Arts Council Chair Maura McGrath and Toscaireacht Chair Cecily Brennan.
