Kilkenny sculptor who has stirred debate is an undeniable master of his craft

Aidan Harte’s first job within the art world was at Kilkenny animation studio Cartoon Saloon, where he worked alongside founders Tomm Moore and Paul Young.

There, he created and directed his first animated television show Skunk Fu!, which first aired in 2007 and concluded little under a year later.

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Aidan then went on to study classical sculpture at the Florence Academy of Art in Italy.

“The type of sculptures I wanted to create were realistic, figurative work, and they don’t really teach that in Ireland,” says Aidan.

“In Florence, they taught us 19th Century techniques. It was very rigorous; there was a lot of life drawing and we studied anatomy, how to sculpt the body from the bones up. We didn’t cast or sculpt anything; it was all about the learning.”

Aidan describes the teachers in Florence as “hardcore”.

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“They’re like samurais,” says Aidan. “A lot of art schools will encourage you to paint what you feel, but these guys are the opposite. It’s ‘make it correct or else’. It was a great education!”

Aidan makes his sculptures from bronze, and uses a method called the lost-wax technique, which has been used in the creation of bronze artworks as far back as the Bronze Age.

The first sculpture Aidan created was the Púca, commissioned by Clare County Council. Inspired by the Irish mythological shapeshifter, the Púca is a 2m tall statue, and depicts a human figure with the head of a horse.

The Púca’s form changes from county to county; in Clare, the Púca is believed to take the form of a horse, but Aidan wanted to introduce a human element to its design.

The Púca’s design was met with controversy; a parish priest in Clare condemned it as “sinister”.

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“Public art puts you in the public realm, so you have to take the slings and the arrows,” says Aidan.

“I wasn’t too anxious about it; the only worry I had was that it wouldn’t get cast, but we eventually sorted it out and moved it ten miles down the road; an Irish solution to an Irish problem!”

The Púca is now happily ensconced in the Michael Cusack Centre in Carran, County Clare.

Aidan’s latest piece is a bronze bust of former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams; the idea for the bust came to Aidan in the run-up to the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Aidan got to work with Gerry during their initial sessions in Belfast.

“I took his measurements, got an impression of his physicality and personality in the room, and I worked that into the finished product from memory,” says Aidan.

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“A portrait sculpture wouldn’t be my main thing. I much prefer classical figures like the Minotaur. There’s always a big worry when sculpting a living person, especially such a well-known one. I spent a long time trying to get it right.”

Aidan believes that there’s something special about a sculpture where the person has sat for it.

“It’s not the same as an official photographic portrait,” he says. “The subject is sitting there for so long that they can’t really put on their best face; they sink into their normal repose.”

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