Later Life is a pair of life-sized Corten steel figures, exploring memory, resilience, and the passage of time. The sculptures embody both permanence and transformation — their weathering surfaces evolving just as human life does.
THE STORY BEHIND
“Later Life” is a bold new work by the renowned Irish sculptor Rowan Gillespie, realized in 2024. Conceived as a pair of life-sized figures — male and female — the sculptures are individually welded in Corten steel (WAAM welded), standing at approximately 100 cm in height.
What makes “Later Life” especially compelling is the collaboration between Gillespie’s powerful figurative vision and MX3D’s cutting-edge additive manufacturing techniques. Through our robotic Directed Energy Deposition (DED) process, the steel forms were built layer by layer with full freedom of geometric expression — allowing Gillespie’s vision to materialize in ways that push the boundaries of traditional metalworking.
THE VALUE BEHIND
By contributing the fabrication process to this project, MX3D underscores a belief that digital and robotic manufacturing need not conflict with the soul of art — but can enable new forms, greater structural daring, and expressive freedom. The “Later Life” project demonstrates what can emerge when artist and machine collaborate: forms that are materially honest, visually evocative, and technically ambitious.
The project will be on display (or exhibited) at Clonlea Studios beginning in August 2024. 3D Printing We see it as a milestone: a point of meeting between tradition (sculpture, gesture, human expression) and innovation (robotics, additive processes, material experimentation).
