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| MARGARET O'BRIEN |
Margaret O’Brien’s practice refers to a psychological in-between space, one that exists
between the private and public personas, and the self and others. This is an intangible,
insecure space, fragile and changeable in the extreme. It alludes to psychological conditions
such as obsessive behavioural patterns, paranoia, a compulsion to control, isolation,
alienation, agoraphobia, claustrophobia etc.
O’Brien draws her inspiration from the everyday, the familiar and the domestic environment.
In recreating objects or spaces that we encounter on a daily basis, she replaces their
normally functional or benign fundamentals with an element of malfunction or mishap.
O’Brien’s practice is multidisciplinary and location is fundamental to her concerns. She uses
installation as a material through which the emotive experience of a space is manipulated to
create a disorientating psychological environment. The spaces she interferes with become
highly sensory experiences. Using devices such as sporadic sound, live malfunction, scale,
and the multiple, the psyche of the viewer is affected through an involuntary, sensory
response to the work.
Education
2002-2004 M.F.A in Fine Art, The Slade School of Fine Art, London
1991-1995 B.A. in Fine Art, First Class Honours, Limerick School of Art and Design, Ireland
Awards & Residencies
2008
Artist-in-Residence, Fire Station Artists Studio, Dublin
2007
Artist Bursary, Arts Council of Ireland
2006
Artist Bursary, Arts Council of Ireland
2004
Adrian Carruthers Award, The Slade School of Fine Art, London (short listed)
2003
Arts and Humanities Research Board, London
Mary Farl Powers Award for Printmakers, Arts Council of Ireland
Professional Development & Training Award, Arts Council of Ireland
AIB Art Prize, Dublin (shortlisted)
2002
The South Square Trust, The Slade School of Fine Art, London
Euan Uglow Scholarship, The Slade School of Fine Art, London
Artists Bursary, Dublin City Council
Professional Development & Training Award, Arts Council of Ireland
2001
2. World Festival of Art on Paper, Ljubljana (short listed)
Artflight Travel Award, Arts Council of Ireland
2000
Visual Art Documentation Grant, Arts Council of Ireland
1999
Artist-in-Residence Award, Arts Council of Ireland
Solo Exhibitions
2008
I live in the cracks in the ceiling, Pallas Contemporary Projects, Dublin
2007
White Picket Fencing, The Belltable Arts Centre, Limerick, Ireland
The Long Goodbye, Droichead Arts Centre, Drogheda, Ireland
2005
Sea of Unknowing, Pallas Heights, Dublin, Ireland
2004
No Man’s Land, West Cork Arts Centre, Co. Cork, Ireland
2002
Dirty Trash, Drogheda Arts Centre, Drogheda, Ireland
Selected Exhibitions
2009
Soot from the Funnel, Lokaal01, Breda
2007
The Future Can Wait, Charlie Smith Gallery, London
Mind Mapping, Noga Gallery, Tel Aviv
Milestones, Black Church Print Studio, Dublin
Sound:Space, Sound Symposium, Bracknell, UK
Cead in China, travelling to Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou
Hung, drawn & quartered, Original Print Gallery, Dublin
2006
2-3-d-5, Energy Gallery, Toronto, Canada
Black: Implication Flooding, Colony, Birmingham
Site-specific Exhibition, Backwater Artists Group, Cork
2005
Clo, 411 Gallery, China
All at once, together, at the same time, Colony, Birmingham
Artist as Publisher, The Workroom Gallery, Dublin
2004
Young Gods, Clapham Art Gallery, London
Graduate Show, The Slade School of Fine Art, London
Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin
2003
Exhibition of Prints, Machida Municipal Museum of Prints, Tokyo
AIB Art Prize, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin
Fresh Fruit, Pallas Studios, Dublin
2002
Semi-Detached, Original Print Gallery, Dublin
Print Alternatives, West Cork Arts Centre, Skibbereen, Cork
Proof, The Workroom, Dublin
2001
Print / Estampe 2001, Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris
2. World Festival of Art on Paper, Ljubljana, Slovenia
From Ritual to Romance, Catalyst Arts, Belfast
between the private and public personas, and the self and others. This is an intangible,
insecure space, fragile and changeable in the extreme. It alludes to psychological conditions
such as obsessive behavioural patterns, paranoia, a compulsion to control, isolation,
alienation, agoraphobia, claustrophobia etc.
O’Brien draws her inspiration from the everyday, the familiar and the domestic environment.
In recreating objects or spaces that we encounter on a daily basis, she replaces their
normally functional or benign fundamentals with an element of malfunction or mishap.
O’Brien’s practice is multidisciplinary and location is fundamental to her concerns. She uses
installation as a material through which the emotive experience of a space is manipulated to
create a disorientating psychological environment. The spaces she interferes with become
highly sensory experiences. Using devices such as sporadic sound, live malfunction, scale,
and the multiple, the psyche of the viewer is affected through an involuntary, sensory
response to the work.
Education
2002-2004 M.F.A in Fine Art, The Slade School of Fine Art, London
1991-1995 B.A. in Fine Art, First Class Honours, Limerick School of Art and Design, Ireland
Awards & Residencies
2008
Artist-in-Residence, Fire Station Artists Studio, Dublin
2007
Artist Bursary, Arts Council of Ireland
2006
Artist Bursary, Arts Council of Ireland
2004
Adrian Carruthers Award, The Slade School of Fine Art, London (short listed)
2003
Arts and Humanities Research Board, London
Mary Farl Powers Award for Printmakers, Arts Council of Ireland
Professional Development & Training Award, Arts Council of Ireland
AIB Art Prize, Dublin (shortlisted)
2002
The South Square Trust, The Slade School of Fine Art, London
Euan Uglow Scholarship, The Slade School of Fine Art, London
Artists Bursary, Dublin City Council
Professional Development & Training Award, Arts Council of Ireland
2001
2. World Festival of Art on Paper, Ljubljana (short listed)
Artflight Travel Award, Arts Council of Ireland
2000
Visual Art Documentation Grant, Arts Council of Ireland
1999
Artist-in-Residence Award, Arts Council of Ireland
Solo Exhibitions
2008
I live in the cracks in the ceiling, Pallas Contemporary Projects, Dublin
2007
White Picket Fencing, The Belltable Arts Centre, Limerick, Ireland
The Long Goodbye, Droichead Arts Centre, Drogheda, Ireland
2005
Sea of Unknowing, Pallas Heights, Dublin, Ireland
2004
No Man’s Land, West Cork Arts Centre, Co. Cork, Ireland
2002
Dirty Trash, Drogheda Arts Centre, Drogheda, Ireland
Selected Exhibitions
2009
Soot from the Funnel, Lokaal01, Breda
2007
The Future Can Wait, Charlie Smith Gallery, London
Mind Mapping, Noga Gallery, Tel Aviv
Milestones, Black Church Print Studio, Dublin
Sound:Space, Sound Symposium, Bracknell, UK
Cead in China, travelling to Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou
Hung, drawn & quartered, Original Print Gallery, Dublin
2006
2-3-d-5, Energy Gallery, Toronto, Canada
Black: Implication Flooding, Colony, Birmingham
Site-specific Exhibition, Backwater Artists Group, Cork
2005
Clo, 411 Gallery, China
All at once, together, at the same time, Colony, Birmingham
Artist as Publisher, The Workroom Gallery, Dublin
2004
Young Gods, Clapham Art Gallery, London
Graduate Show, The Slade School of Fine Art, London
Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin
2003
Exhibition of Prints, Machida Municipal Museum of Prints, Tokyo
AIB Art Prize, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin
Fresh Fruit, Pallas Studios, Dublin
2002
Semi-Detached, Original Print Gallery, Dublin
Print Alternatives, West Cork Arts Centre, Skibbereen, Cork
Proof, The Workroom, Dublin
2001
Print / Estampe 2001, Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris
2. World Festival of Art on Paper, Ljubljana, Slovenia
From Ritual to Romance, Catalyst Arts, Belfast
