Bart O'Reilly

ABOUT

"I work primarily with painting and poetry. Though the subject matter is deeply personal, I engage with contemporary art practice. The paintings seek to evoke a sense of place and diffuse memories and nostalgias that accompany it. The connection to Ireland and my childhood is heightened by geographic distance and the recent passing of my parents. The interactions between pigment suspended in water and the fabric surface of the canvas or paper keep my process open to the push and pull of control and letting go. Though I begin with childhood memories I develop a concurrent relationship with light, perception, material, and color; the ever-shifting background of Irish skies informing my complex relationship with 21st century America."

EDUCATION

The Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland
Masters of Fine Arts in Studio Art (MFAST), 2012

National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland
Bachelors Degree in Fine Art (Painting) with first-class honors, 2000

AWARDS

Recognition of Scholarly and Creative Work, Harford Community College, 2018

Woven Tale Press Fine Art Competition winner, 2017

The Mayors Individual Artists Award
The Baltimore Office of promotion and the Arts, 2015

Baltimore Social Innovation Journal Grant, 2014

MICA MFAST Award, 2012

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2024, Whispers of Longing, Gallery 220, Havre de Grace Maryland

2019, Empathy with Branches York College, Marketview Arts, York, Pennsylvania

2018, Things might Happen in the Sky, Pence-Chowning Art Gallery, Campbellsville University, Kentucky

2018, Ghost Pools, China Hutch Projects, Washington College, Chestertown, Maryland

2017, Poems from the Mountains, Chesapeake Gallery, Harford Community College, Bel Air, Maryland

2016, Guest artist at Hamilton Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland

2016, Tigh an Chnoic, the Reeves Gallery at Saint Ignatius Church, Baltimore, Maryland

2014, An Imagined Shed Trilogy, at Highlandtown Arts District, Baltimore, Maryland, curated by Sandra Abbott

2013, Shadow Interventions at The Drawing Project, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin Ireland

2012, MFA in Studio Art Thesis Exhibition, MICA, Baltimore, Maryland

2011, Emerge International Art Fair, Capitol Skyline Hotel, Washington DC, Represented by Solas Nua

2010, Old Lines from the Luminous State, Flashpoint Gallery, Sponsored by Solas Nua, Washington DC

2008, Slippages at A-X-D Gallery with artist Sheldon Drake, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

2007, Materializing the Story, a two-person exhibition with Artist Daniel Stuelpnagel, Load of Fun Studios, Baltimore, Maryland

2006, Found Fragments, Creative Alliance at The Patterson, Baltimore, Maryland

2005, Passing Places, Montage Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2019, Left Space, A group exhibition of MICA students, alumni and faculty at 1100 Wicomico Street, Baltimore, Maryland

2016, The Army That You Have, curated by Marian April Glebes Current Space, Baltimore, Maryland.

2016, Repression/Resurgence/Reemergence, Hillyer Art Space, curated by Jackie Hoysted for Solas Nua., Washington DC

2015, Cross this Line, Max Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland

2015, Project 837, Project PLACE, Baltimore, Maryland

2014, Under 500, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore, Maryland

2014, Emergence 2014, International Artists to Watch, Galerie Myrtis, Baltimore, Maryland

2013, Cinesonika 3, University of Ulster, Derry, Northern Ireland

2013, Flex, Flat Atlas, Washington, DC

2012, Makeshift Residency Show, OPEN WABI MAKESHIFT RESIDENCY, Fredericktown, Ohio

2011, Things Fall Apart, Catonsville Community College, Catonsville, Maryland

2011, Materiality, Coppin State University, Baltimore, Maryland

2009, Art Hamptons with Clark Priftis Art, The Bridge Hampton Historical Society, New York

2009, Where the Sun Don’t Shine, Nudashank Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland

2009, Escape, American Contemporary Gallery Annapolis, Maryland

2008, Transmodern Festival 2008, Load of Fun Studios, Baltimore, Maryland

2008, The Art of Making a Living, MIM Gallery, Baltimore, Maryland

2005, A Moment in Time, Temple Bar Gallery, Dublin, Ireland

2003, Painting at the Beginning of the 21st Century, Sligo Art Gallery, Sligo, Ireland

2003, Painted, Signal Arts Center, Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

2003, Painted, Bank of Ireland Arts Center, Dublin, Ireland

2002, Painted, Orchard Gallery, Derry, Northern Ireland

2002, Painted (Six painters at the Linenhall), Linenhall Arts Centre, Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland

2001, Heaven on Earth (In aid of UNICEF), Rubicon Gallery, Dublin, Ireland

2001, Eruption, Players Theatre, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

2001, Group Six, Rubicon Gallery, Dublin, Ireland