Currently, my work marks a bold shift in my practice – it is visually stronger, politically charged, and emotionally direct.

By positioning myself as both subject and muse, I convey personal experiences while highlighting the historical overlooking of female artists. I play with symbolism and the subjective undertones in the work. Over the past year, I have learned, images for paintings attract me because they carry something that lives within us, something that resonates on a subconscious level. My work concerns the 'Feminine' in painting, that traditionally represented the qualities associated with women in art. My stance is from a modern and contemporary feminist vantage.

We paint what we are, and I find that where I am in life now feels especially poignant. I aim to capture an authentic and truthful account of my experiences as a woman, examining themes such as empty nest syndrome, growing older and the struggle between art and everyday life. I am interested in how routine and repetition function as points of tension between artistic practice and the hidden weights within the quotidian. Within the mundane, there is depth, resonance, and something deeper at play. I allow both art and the everyday to inform and enrich eachother.

I am interested in the 'Cartoon' in painting. A genre that is overlooked for its capacity to portray complex political themes. I look to painters like Phillip Guston, the so called “funny” painters show us that humour in painting is not frivolous; it can be just as urgent and politically charged as heavier, more sombre themes. My work shares humour and unease in equal measure.

Olivia O'Dwyer a painter from Limerick, based in Wexford. Recent solo shows include Seen and Unseen, The Lido Stores Margate, UK, 24. HomeBird, at Kevin Kavanagh, Dublin, 24. A Mind’s Eye, Kevin Kavanagh, 22.

Some recent group exhibitions include, invited artist, Crosscurrents and Early Spring exhibition at Herman’s Auction House, Dublin, 25/26. Right Here, Right Now, Rua Red Arts Centre, Dublin, 25. Magic and Loss at Kevin Kavanagh, 2024; the RHA Annual Exhibition, 2024; New Neighbours, a two person show, at South Tipperary Arts Centre, 2024.

Most recent residencies include, Uillinn Arts Centre, West Cork, 26 and SIM, Reykjavik, Iceland, 24. She has completed numerous residencies at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Annaghmakerrig, Co. Monaghan, and in Kathmandu at the Siddhartha Galley with Culture Ireland, 2018.

O’Dwyer was awarded a Visual Arts Bursary in 2023; an Agility award in 2022; and several Artlinks bursaries.20/22/23/25. She won the Making and Momentum artist prize from Designer Richard Malone and Creative Ireland in 2022 and The Lido Open, UK in 2023. O’Dwyer has written and been reviewed in the Visual Artists Newssheet; the ‘What Lies Beneath’ column, in the Sunday Independent. The Sunday Times and the Culture section of RTE.IE.

She is currently working towards an exhibition in Margate,Uk. Her work was recently acquired by Wexford’s Co. Council's Public Art Collection.

Education:

BA in painting, Limerick School of Art and Design

Solo Exhibitions:

Seen and Unseen, The Lido Stores, Margate, UK, 2024

HomeBird, Kevin Kavanagh Galleries,  Dublin, 2024

.https://www.kevinkavanagh.ie/exhibitions/198-olivia-o-dwyer-homebird/overview/

 A Mind's Eye at  Kevin Kavanagh Galleries, Dublin, October 2022.

 'Lockdown Diaries',  Wexford Arts Centre, 2021.

 'Recurrence' Creative Hub Studios, Wexford, 2019.

 'Landlines' Wexford Arts Centre,  2015

Selected  Exhibitions:

2026, Spring exhibition, Herman's Auction House, Dublin

2026, Early Spring exhibition, Herman's Auction House, Dublin 

2025, Winter exhibition, The Dunmore, Rathmines, Dublin

2025, Invited artist, Crosscurrents,  Herman's Auction House,  Dublin

2025, Right Here, Right Now, Rua Red, Dublin 

2024, Magic and Loss, Kevin Kavanagh Gallery,  Dublin,  

2024, New Neighbours, 2 person show at South Tipperary Arts Centre

2024, RHA annual, Dublin 

2023,The Lido Stores Open, Margate, UK

2023, RuaRed, Spring exhibition, Dublin. 

2022, Cairde Visual, Hamilton Gallery Sligo.

2022, Beep Painting Biennial, Swansea Wales

2022, Summer Open, Courthouse Gallery Clare.

21/22, Hambly and Hambly, Fermanagh.

21/22, Winter Open. Courthouse Gallery, Clare.

21/22, Open Call, Dunamaise Arts Centre,

21/22,  ArtForm, 44 The Quay, Waterford

2021, Meet, Peripheries Space, Gorey.      

2021, Painting of the Day, Contemporary British Painting, @paintbritain, Instagram.

2021, Invited artist, HANDS project,  in association with IMMA.                                                                         

2021, featured artist ICE gallery, Instagram.

2020, Composition as a construct, BOS Gallery, Dublin.

2019  'From the Mountain' with Selected works from the Arts Council Collection of Ireland, Wexford Arts Centre & Wexford County Council.

2018, exhibition and residency funded by Culture Ireland, in association with Wexford Arts Centre,

Siddhartha Gallery, Kathmandu, Nepal.

2018, Vital Material, Creative Hub Studios, curated by Mary Ruth Walsh, Wexford.

2018, Invited artist, All 'Opera, Cultural exchange exhibition, Velletri, Italy.

2018 ’Between the Sea and the Sky’, Two person show, Ranelagh Arts Centre, Dublin.

2017, Wexford Opera Festival, supported by Wexford Co. Council Arts Department.

2017 ,‘Last Month's Rent’ Invited artist, with Limerick School of Art and Design, Sailors Home, Limerick.

2017, Cairde Arts Festival, The Model, Sligo.

2017, Kfest Arts Festival, Killorglin, Kerry.

2016, Galway International Arts Festival, Galway.

2016, 'Stranger than Fact’ (Curator and exhibitor), Wexford Opera Festival.

2016, ‘Insert Title Here’ (Curator and exhibitor) The Pigyard Gallery, Wexford.

Awards

Artlinks, Visual Arts Bursary, 25/26

Awarded Lido Stores solo exhibition , Margate, UK, August 24. 

Visual Arts Bursary, Arts Council of Ireland, 2023

Agility award, Arts Council of Ireland, 2022

Making and Momentum artist prize ( In conversation with Eileen Gray) funded by Richard Malone.

Wexford Co. Council Residency Award at Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Co.Monaghan, 2023

Artist Correspondence course, Peripheries, Gorey ,2021

Artlinks professional development Bursary, 20/22/23

Living Arts Project with Wexford Arts Centre and Wexford Co.Council, 2022 and 2016.

Artist in residence, 19/20, Creative Hub Studios, Wexford.

Residencies:

Studio residency, BlackBird Cultur-Lab, Co. Wexford 2025

Upcoming residency with Uillinn Arts Centre, West Cork.

SIM residency Reykjavik, Iceland, November 2024. 

Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Co. Monaghan, September 2024, featuring an artist talk with Neva Elliott. 

Tyrone Guthrie, April and November 2023 

Exhibition and residency with The Lido Stores Gallery, Margate UK, 2024. 

Exhibition and residency in Kathmandu, 2018 with Culture Ireland 

Reviews/Publications

Magic and Loss publication, Kevin Kavanagh, 2024.

RTE.ie, featuring ‘New Neighbours’ at South Tipperary Arts Centre
(https://www.rte.ie/culture/2024/0416/1442807-new-neighbours-artists-olivia-odwyer-and-fergal-styles-in-focus/)

Sunday Times Magazine, New Neighbours, at STAC, 2024. 

Review of HomeBird, (front cover of critique section) Visual Artist News Sheet, by Neva Elliott, 2024. 

Text by Neva Elliott, HomeBird, Kevin Kavanagh, Dublin, 2024

Text By Neva Elliott, New Neighbours, STAC, 2024

‘Two to View’ section Sunday Independent, HomeBirdat Kevin Kavanagh, 2024. 

Text by Cristin Leach, A Mind’s Eye, Kevin Kavanagh, Dublin, 2022 

Interview in ‘What Lies Beneath’ Sunday Independent by Niall MacMonagle, A Mind’s Eye, 2022 

Commissioned writer Visual Artist Ireland News Sheet, 2022. 

Public Collections:

Wexford Co. Council Public Art Collection

EU Ambassador, Head Office, Kathmandu,  Nepal

Suzhou International school, Suzhou, China.

Wexford Arts Centre, permanent art collection 

Work is held in many private collections.