Rachel in her studio. Photo by Amelia Stein
Born in Caherciveen in 1966, Rachel grew up in Dublin and graduated with a Degree in Sculpture from National College Of Art & Design in 1989.
Rachel was elected as a member of Aosdana in 2021
Joynt’s work is predominantly site-specific; this goes for both her sand installations and public artworks. Her installations include ‘Selene’ at Project Art Centre in ’93 and ‘Feed’ at Temple Bar Galleries in ’99. Her public artworks include ‘People’s Island”88, ‘Mothership’ at Dunlaoghaire seafront in ’99, ‘Starboard’ alongside the River Lagan, Belfast, 2001 and ‘Noah’s Egg’ outside the Vetinary building, UCD, 2004.
Working in both gallery and public art, permanence and the transient are reoccurring themes, her use of sand, light, glass, bronze and cast iron underline this. The actual material itself can play an integral part in the concept as in her series of recent pieces using a thin screen of sand to examine a stratified landscape, scan or graph.
“Capturing layers of sand behind glass allows me to enjoy its physical and metaphorical qualities and its interplay somewhere between solid matter and liquid behavior”
For Joynt, scale is also important, transforming our normal viewpoint. Using different magnifications be it macro or micro, she allows the subject to take on a new presence.
Some of her public artworks are highly visible such as the sea urchin ‘Mothership’ or ‘Noah’s Egg’ (a 3.5 meter long bronze egg textured with various animal sperm and perforated with small holes. When viewed through the eyehole this creates a celestial space inside) A large number can also be discovered underfoot, these include ‘Starboard’ in Belfast and ‘ArcHive’ at Pearse St library in Dublin. Both these works use cast glass housed within a cast iron frame and then lit from below.
Her recent commissions include ‘Freeflow’ a glass cobble, illuminated work sited intermittently underfoot from IFSC to the Point Theater in Dublin, ‘Love All’ a bronze globe in Templeogue village and ‘Guiding Star’ a large cast iron starfish as if dancing over the harbour wall at Port Oriel fishing harbour in Co Louth.
“For me, a successful public artwork needs to have a sense of place, a freshness, some intrigue & playfulness, a bit like a frozen moment from a daydream.”
Rachel Joynt
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EDUCATION
1984 – ’89: BA First Class Honours Degree in Sculpture, N.C.A.D. Dublin.
1988: Exchange student, Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland.
ONE PERSON EXHBITION
2013: ‘Sea Change’ Ashford Gallery, RHA, Ely Place Dublin
1999: ‘FEED’ Installation, Temple Bar Gallery and Studios, Dublin.
1996: Residency and Exhibition in La Friche Belle de Mai, Marseille
1993 – ’94: ‘SELENE’ Installation, Project Arts Centre, Dublin, Arts Council Gallery, Belfast.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2014: Dublin Biennial 2014, CHQ Building , IFSC, Docklands, Dublin 1
2012: Nine stones Artists at Deighton Hall, Eigse Festival, Carlow
2009: Nine Stones Artists Group Show at Norman Gallery, Wexford
2005 – 14: RHA annual Exhibition
2005: Forty Shades of green Gluckman Gallery, Cork
2004: In the Time of Shaking’ Art for Amnesty. IMMA
2001 – 02: RHA Annual Exhibition RHA Gallagher Gallery, Dublin
2000: Fusion, Dunamaise, Theatre and Centre for Visual Arts, Portlaoise.
1999: Multiples X, Temple Bar Gallery and Studios.
1997: ‘Critics Choice’, RHA, Gallagher Gallery, Dublin.
1996: RHA Annual Exhibition, RHA Gallagher Gallery, Dublin.
1996: NCAD 250 Drawings, RHA Gallagher Gallery, Dublin.
1994: Siolru ’94 RHA Gallagher Gallery, Dublin.
1993: Oireachtas ’93, RHA Gallagher Gallery, Dublin.
1991: Espace ’91, RHA Gallagher Gallery, Dublin.
1990: Sculpture in Context, Fernhill Gardens, Sandyford, Co. Dublin.
1987: S.A.D.E. Crawford Municipal Art Gallery, Cork.
COMMISSIONS
2014: ‘Waggle Dance’ Collaboration with Remco de Fouw, Iontas Building , National University of Ireland,Maynooth
2013: Instinct , walkway along river Moy, Ballina, co Mayo. Mayo Co council.
2012: Golden Apple , St Nessan’s Community College, Limerick
2009: ‘Guiding Star’ Port Oriel, Clougherhead. Louth Co Council
2007: ‘Love All’ Templogue Village, South Dublin Co Council
2007: Clutch Baltray, Drogheda, Louth, Co. Council.
2006: ‘Mother of Pearl’ Private garden, Killiney, Co. Dublin
2005: ‘Free Flow’ North Quay, Dockland Development, Dublin
2004: ‘Noah’s Egg’ outside Veterinary Building, U.C.D, Bellfield, Co Dublin
2003: ‘Arc Hive’ Pearse St Library. Dublin City Council
2002: ‘Moonwalk’ Morecambe, England. Lancashire City Council
2001: ‘Egg’ Redrow Homes, Cardiff, Whales. Cardiff Bay Arts Trust.
2001: ‘Starboard’ Gregg’s Quay, Belfast, Laganside Corporation.
2001: ‘Eccentric Orbit’, Portmarnock, Co. Dublin Collaboration
1999: ‘Mothership’, Newtownsmith, Sandycove, Co. Dublin
1998: ‘Stable Rocks’, Simmonscourt Road, Ballsbridge
1997: ‘Shoreline’, Strand Road, Derry, N. Ireland, Derry City Council.
1997: ‘Melt Down’, Newcastle upon Tyne Eco Centre, Collaboration.
1996: ‘Perpetual Motion’. Naas by Pass Collaboration, Kildare, Co. Council.
1995: Weather Vane & Pool, Dublin Castle, Office of Public Work (O.P.W.).
1994: ‘A Spine Path’, Library Headquarters, Clare County Council, Ennis, Co. Clare.
1992: ‘Red Stone’, (O.P.W.) Visitors Centre, Kilrush, Co. Clare.
1991: ‘Wood Key Walk’ Winetavern Street / Patrick Street project. Dublin Corporation, Public Art Panel ’91.
1990: Dublin Corporation. – ‘Solas na Glasrai’. The Green Light.
Sited in ’92, Parnell Street / Moore Street, – 13ft Market Lamp.
1988: Dublin Millennium Sculpture Symposium ’88 ‘Peoples Island
Traffic Island between Westmoreland Street / D’Olier Street.
AWARDS/HONOURS
2021: Elected member of Aosdana
2012: Artlinks Bursary, Carlow County Council.
2005: Elected Full Member of The Royal Hibernian Academy
1999: Visual Arts Bursary, Arts Council of Ireland.
1997: Joint recipient for ‘The Cream of Irish Awards in Sculpture ’97’.
1994: Macaulay Fellowship, Arts Council of Ireland.
1993: Arts Council of Ireland, Travel Grant.
1987: Bank of Ireland Bursary award, S.A.D.E., Crawford Gallery, Cork.
WORK EXPERIENCE
2014: Selector of Carlow Eigse Art Exhition with Martin Gale RHA
1995 – 1997: Teaching Core Studies, National College of Art & Design.
1994: ‘Cornerstone Project’ An Architectural and Artistic Design Team
1994: Coordinated Workshops/Exhibition ‘Song of Myself’, IMMA
1990: Teaching, Douglas Hyde Gallery Workshops.
COLLECTIONS
Office Of Public Works
Bank of Ireland
Allied Irish Banks
The Gallery of Photography
Temple bar Gallery
Temple Bar Properties
National Self Portrait Collection