Works Rooted Deeply in Landscape Painting

Gwen O’Dowd began exhibiting in the mid 1980′s.Her formal concerns have always been rooted deeply in the tradition of landscape painting.Yet the specific locales from which she has drawn inspiration,the modes of addressing them and the metaphoric import of the resulting series of paintings have varied considerably over the years.

View ‘Spaces 19’ within the Collection

Spaces 19 by Gwen O' Dowd

Spaces 19 by Gwen O’ Dowd

Presently Lives and Works in Dublin and Wexford

Among the aspects of the landscape O’Dowd has registered over the past decades were the ecological devastation of the Gulf War,the epic Grandeur of the Grand Canyon,,the mythically sexualised landscape of coastal Ireland,the elemental force of the Waves and most recently the ‘Humanising’ of the bird life that surrounds her.

Some important group exhibitions in which she participated in recent years were ‘Poetic Land – Political Landscape’ which toured Britain.’Re;Dressing Caitlin’contemporary works from Irish Women artists and ‘Eire – Land’ both at the Mc Mullen Museum of Art,Boston College.

O’Dowd is represented in the collections of the Arts Council of Ireland and Northern Ireland,the Irish Museum of Modern art,and in many corporate and private collections in Ireland,USA,Europe and Japan.

She presently lives and works in Dublin and in Wexford which is providing new inspiration for her work.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

  • Gwen O’Dowd New Works, Hamilton Gallery,Sligo, 2011
  • ‘SEA’ Gwen O’Dowd New Works,Hillsboro Fine Art,Dublin, 2010
  • Waterbased 2′ Gwen O’Dowd New Works, Vangard Gallery,Cork, 2008
  • ‘Waterbased 1′ Gwen O’Dowd,Hillsboro Fine Art,Dublin, 2007
  • ‘ Cladach 2′ ,Vangard Gallery,Cork, 2005
  •  ‘ Cladach ‘ New works by Gwen O’Dowd,Hillsboro Fine Art,Dublin, 2004
  •  ‘Spaces’ New Works by Gwen O’Dowd,Vangard Gallery,Cork, 2003
  •  ‘New Paintings’ ART FIRST Contemporary Art,London, 2001
  •  ‘DIPTYCHS ‘ by Gwen O’Dowd,Vangard Gallery,Cork, 2001
  •  ’5 DIPTYCHS ‘ Ashford Gallery,RHA,Dublin, 2000
  •  ‘New Works’ Vangard Gallery,Cork, 1999
  •  ‘UAIMH’ Kerlin Gallery,Dublin, 1997
  •  ‘Grand Canyon Series’ Kerlin Gallery,Dublin, 1995
  • ‘The West Series’ Kerlin Gallery,Dublin, 1992
  •  ‘Canadian Paintings’ Kerlin Gallery,Dublin, 1990
  •  One Person Exhibition,Butler Gallery,Kilkenny,1989
  •  One Person Exhibition,West Cork arts Centre,Cork, 1989
  • ‘ Welsh Works’ Fishguard,Wales, 1987
  • ‘Urban Works’ solo exhibition,Project Arts Centre,Dublin, 1984

Selected Group Exhibitions

  •  ‘Across the Decades’ 2 person show Gwen O’Dowd and Eilis O’Connell, Hillsboro Fine Art,Dublin, 2012
  • RHA Annual,Dublin, 2000
  • Art First,London, 2000
  • British Contemporary Landscape,Flower’s East,London, 1999
  • RHA Annual,Dublin, 1999
  • Art into Print,National Gallery,Dublin, 1998
  • Art First,Cork Street,London, 1998
  • RHA Annual,Dublin, 1998
  • Re;Dressing Cathleen,Contemporary Works from Irish Women Artists,Boston College, 1998
  • Art First, Cork Street, 1997
  • L’Imaginaire Irlandais,Galerie Claude-Samuel,Paris, 1996
  • ‘Eigse ’96,Carlow Arts Festival, 1996
  • ‘Living Landscape ’96′West Cork arts Centre, 1996
  • Banquet Exhibition,RHA Gallery,Dublin, 1995
  • ‘Poetic Land – Political Territory’Northern Centre for Contemporary Art,Sunderland and touring Britain, 1995
  • Living Landscape ’94′ West Cork arts Centre,and touring Ireland, 1994
  • Aer Rianta ’94′ Dublin Airport, 1994
  • ‘Iontas ’94′ Sligo, 1994
  • Group exhibition,Coram Gallery,London, 1994
  •  Eurovision Festival,Cork, 1993
  • Recent Acquisitions,Irish museum of Modern Art, 1993
  • Wexford Opera Festival,Wexford, 1993
  • Arts Fest ’93′,Cork, 1993
  •  Trinity College collection,Douglas Hyde Gallery,Dublin, 1992
  • Living Landscape,West Cork Arts Centre, 1992
  • ‘Welcome Europe’,Holstebro Juntsmuseum,Denmark, 1992
  • ‘Parable Island’Bluecoat Gallery,Liverpool, 1991
  • ‘Ice’ RHA Gallery,Dublin, 1991
  • Boyle Arts Festival ’91, 1991
  • ‘EVA 91′Limerick City Gallery,Limerick, 1991
  • ‘Iontas’ exhibition,Sligo, 1991
  • ‘The Fifth Province’ Irish Art touring,Canada, 1991
  • Aer Rianta Arts Festival,Dublin Airport, 1990
  • ‘Nature and Culture’ Douglas Hyde Gallery,Dublin, 1990
  • 24th International Prix of Contemporary Art,Monte Carlo, 1990
  • ‘Living Landscape ‘ West Cork Arts Centre,Cork, 1990
  • Oireachtas Exhibition,RHA Gallery,Dublin, 1990
  • ‘Clairemorris Open’ Co.Mayo, 1990
  • ‘Sense of Ireland’Centre Space,London, 1990
  • ‘Trees for Life’RHK Gallery,Kilmainham, 1989
  • Lanscape exhibition,Triskel Arts Centre,Cork, 1989
  • ‘Clairemorris Open’Co Mayo, 1989
  • ‘Fool’s Gold’ Galway, 1989
  • ‘Dialogue’ Douglas Hyde Gallery,Dublin, 1989
  • Group Exhibition,Kerlin Gallery,Dublin, 1989

 

Website: http://gwenodowd.net