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 her inspiration, the modes of addressing them and the metaphoric import of the resulting series of paintings, have varied considerably over the years.

Among the aspects of the landscapes O’Dowd has registered over the past decade are the ecological devastation of the Gulf War, the epic grandeur of the Grand Canyon and, more recently the mythically sexualised landscape of the coastal Ireland. She has since exhibited regularly in Ireland and Britain, and also in continental Europe and North America.

Recent Solo Exhibitions
2005 Vangard Gallery, Cork
2004 Hillsoboro Fine Art, Dublin
2003 Vangard Gallery
2001 Vangard Gallery

Recent Selected Group Exhibitions
2005 Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray
Chester Beatty Library, Dublin
RHA Annual Exhibition
Catherine Hammond Gallery, Cork
Hunt Museum, Limerick
2004
RHA Annual Exhibition
Graphic Studio Gallery, Dublin
IMMA, Dublin
Hillsboro Fine Art, Dublin

Awards
1998 Prize Winner, RHA
1994 Prize Winner, Iontas
1991 Member of Aosdana

Commissions
2003 Taspestry for Four Seasons Hotel

Collections
Irish Representative in the European Court of Juctice, Strasbourg
The Arts Council of Ireland
Contemporary Irish Arts Society
Irish Museum of Modern Art
Office of Public Works
KPMG, Stokes Kennedy Crowley
Aer Rianta