Mary O’Connor is a visual artist living in Dublin. She studied Visual Communication and 3D Design at TU in Dublin, and prior to her artistic career she worked as an Interior Designer at Kilkenny Design Centre, Kilkenny, as well as in London and New Zealand. Whilst in New Zealand, Mary partook in a night class where she studied painting. She later moved with her Kiwi husband to live in Belize, Central America, and then to Kazakhstan, Central Asia. During her eleven year stay, Mary travelled extensively throughout the Stan’s, and as a result published two books of photojournalism on Central Asia. She repatriated in 2014, and her travels still heavily influence her practice today.
Returning to Ireland after 11 years in Kazakhstan had a significant impact on her, and it took the best part of a year to dissolve and restart. “Photography had taken over my practice there, in terms of painting it was quite an isolated existence, the art community was minuscule and in Ireland it’s vibrant, thriving and ever evolving on many levels” describes the artist. Joining Black Church Print Studio in Temple Bar, Dublin, was a pivotal point for Mary. Members were forever pointing her towards the screen printing floor, and she has since not looked back.
Shapes and colour make up the foundation of Mary’s practice which incorporates both painting and screen printing. Painting in a gestural manner, Mary then reworks these shapes for printing. It is these overlapping shapes, and her selective use of colour that are the main elements of her screen printing practice.
During lockdown, Mary worked from her home studio, embarking on a series of small works including both painting and printing. She also experimented with mono silk screen printing for the first time. The resulting prints were more gestural compared to her usual screen printing work. Mary then recycled old prints by cutting them into shapes and overlaid her monoprints with collage. This work led to a commission for DLR Artworks Home.
“I enjoy expressing art using different ways beyond a framed image on a wall” explains Mary. This is illustrated through a recent commission where she was tasked with painting four walls on a commercial building. The designs were chosen based on her prints, which she adapted and scaled up to size. She continues; “It’s always been a dream to create a 100% silk scarf printed in Italy“. Her love of textiles has resulted in a fine collection of Suzani’s from Central Asia, which was initiated after she met with the right person who agreed to manage the process for her. This was perfect timing as it would coincide with her solo exhibition, KEEL, at SO Fine Art Editions in Dublin. “It’s been a wonderful collaboration” states Mary on the project. The edition is limited to 50 scarves, and she is excited to show the finished scarf and present it in its own custom designed box when the exhibition opens on the 22nd of August 2020.
Mary has been working towards KEEL, her first Solo exhibition for over a year. The show includes a combination of paintings and prints, demonstrating how the two mediums come together in her practice:
Keel is an exhibition by Mary O’Connor where she explores the roots that gave rise to one of the most important elements of her practice – colour. Influenced by two worlds, diametrically opposed to each other on the globe. New Zealand and Ireland. Initiated into one and matured into the other her Visual Art practice is a marriage of both worlds. The Keel symbolically acts as the central element connecting both of these realities now merging as one. The paintings and prints in this exhibition exploit numerous possibilities summed up following a recent visit to New Zealand, and are conveyed through shape, space, colour and gestural mark making that emerge as non-representational abstract compositions.
Antipodes: Balance : Ballast : Central : Cloud : Colour : Currents : Deep : Depth : Diametric : Draft : Drift : Drop : Fall : Fixed : Floating : Grounding : Hemisphere : Hidden : Lean Linier : Movement : Mystery : Northern : Ocean : Opposites : Passage : Polar : Port : Pressure : Reverse : Righting : Ripple : Rise : Silence : Sonar : Southern : Stability : Starboard : Swing : Tilt : Underside : Wave
Mary has been selected for many group exhibitions, including the RHA Annual Exhibition, RUA Annual Exhibition and Cairde. Her work is included in many public and private collections, such as The Office of Public Works, The Environmental Protection Agency, Wexford County Council Collection, The Devlin Hotel, Holles St. Hospital Collection, Beat FM Waterford, and CITI. She has completed a commission for four large-scale wall murals in Capitol Dock, Dublin, and has participated in OVER NATURE, a touring exhibition, curated by Valeria Ceregini. Mary has been the recipient of the Galway County Council Purchase prize and Impressions Biennale 2019.
KEEL takes place at SO Fine Art Editions in Dublin from 22/08/2020 until 19/09/2020.
www.maryoconnorart.com
@maryoconnorart
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