Bio
Emma O’Hara is a visual artist based in Cork City, Ireland. She graduated with a BA majoring in Printmaking in Contemporary Practice from the Limerick School of Art and Design (2016). O’Hara was awarded the Cork Printmakers 12-month Bursary (2016) where she has continued to hone & expand her visual practice. She has exhibited in numerous National and International exhibitions and he work has been collected by a number of private and public collections including the Crawford Art Gallery. Emma was also the recipient of the 2021 & 2022 Arts Council Agility award.
O’Hara’s most recent Solo exhibition “Strangers we will stay” took place in So Fine Art editions, powers court town house, Dublin in March 2023 . Emma Recently completed a two month residency in August and September of 2022 with Rimbun Dahan Arts Centre in Kuala Lumper, Malaysia.
Artists Statement
My practice explores ideas of environmental awareness and personal ecology through boldly colourful, abstracted dreamscapes that exist outside of time and space. This multidimensional journey unfolds through the tactile embrace of paper and clay, each medium capturing my vision of lush and verdant fantasy landscapes—a testament to reverie, nostalgia, and wanderlust.
I work towards creating dreamscapes and moments that defy the boundaries of time, challenging and transcending the mundane by exploring the realm of abstraction, personal experiences and story telling. I use vivid hues and spontaneous mark making to remind the viewer that we are journeying landscapes of dreams and memories which are both uncertain and fleeting.
During my three month residency in Rimbun Dahan Arts Centre, Malaysia in the Summer of 2022, my work begun the incorporation of abstracted forms, symbols and text. Each drawn from the intimate core of memory, experiences and ecological convictions. My practice continually explores scale and materials, expanding my two-dimensional work onto clay vessels. The varying scales and curves of these vessels further morph the narrative. These shifts in perspective mirror the fantastical nature of the dreamscapes, the vessels embody a conduit for personal experiences and ecological narratives which serve as a poignant reminder that we are journeying through life each one of us unique and while my work conjures intimate experiences , it is not a portrayal of a specific site. Rather, it seeks to conjure the collective memory of nature and existence—the intrinsic connection we share with the Earth and each other. It serves as a gentle, yet poignant reminder of the delicate equilibrium of our natural world, an awakening to our obligation to protect it. My aim is for the observer to recognise our intricate relationship with the natural world and what we leave behind—a world as eternal and fleeting as a dream.
Exhibition History
Solo Exhibitions
2023 - ‘’Strangers we will stay” So Fine Art Editions, Dublin, IRL.
2022 -"The sun casts a shadow’’, Sample Studios, Cork, IRL.
2021-“One who walks the clouds”, Hang Tough Contemporary, Dublin, IRL.
2018- “Encounters”, Cork Printmakers Gallery, Cork, IRL.
Group Exhibitions
2024: “Summer Exhibition”, Lavit Gallery, Cork, IRL.
“Stories of Art”, The Glucksman Gallery, Cork, IRL.
2023: “Cork Printmakers Members Exhibition”, Lavit Gallery, Cork, IRL
“Impressions” Blue House Gallery, Schull, IRL.
“Elevate” Powerscourt town house, Dublin, IRL
“Do you know where the window is” Sample Studios , Stamp, Cork, IRL.
2022:“Winter Exhibition”, So Fine art editions, Dublin, IRL.
“Clay and Canvas”, The lavit Gallery, Cork, IRL
“Works on Paper”, Blue Shop Cottage, London, UK.
“Paipear”, Hang Tough Contemporary, Dublin, IRL.
2020: “Woolwich Contemporary Art Fair”, London, UK
“Land Under the Waves”, Nano Nagle Place, Cork, IRL.
“New Light”, Outdoor exhibition, Glucksman, Cork, IRL.
“Memory Edits”, Sternview Gallery, Cork, IRL.
“London Art Fair”, Buisness Design Centre, London, UK.
“Boodle Hatfield Printmaking Prize”, Blackfriars, London, UK.
2019: “Woolwich Contemporary Art Fair”, London, UK.
“Vue”, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, IRL.
“Mor”, Graphic Studio, Dublin, IRL.
“Halftone Print fair”, The Library Project, Print Fair, Dublin, IRL.
“Discover Print”, Green Acres, Wexford, IRL.
“Impressions”, Open Printmaking Beinnal, GMIT, Galway, IRL.
“Summer Exhibition”, Graphic Studio, Dublin, IRL.
“State of Print”, Cork Printmakers & Crawford Art Gallery, IRL,SPN.
2018: “Re(act)”, IMPACT 10, Santander, Spain.
“MEDAZA”, 2020 Art Gallery, Cork, IRL.
“K-Fest”, Killorglin, Kerry, IRL.
“Halftone Print fair”, The Library Project, Print Fair, Dublin, IRL.
“Volumes”, Impact Conference, Santander, Spain.
“ENCOUNTERS”, Cork Printmakers Gallery, Cork, IRL. (Solo)
Awards
2016: Cork Printmakers Studio Bursary
2019: Short listed for the Boodle Hatfield Printmaking award
2020: Arts Council Agility Award
2021: Arts Council Agility Award
2024: Arts Council Agility Award
Publications
2018: O’Brien, Emily, Balconies: A response to prints by EmmaO’Hara Bloomers Issue #2, The Living Mountain.(https://bloomers.format.com/ )
The Library Project, Halftone Print Fair prints by Emma O’Hara (http://2018.halftone.ie/ prints/emma-ohara/)
2016: Irish Arts Review, next generation artists work by Emma O’Hara (https://www.irishartsreview.com/new-generation-artist-work/emma-ohara/)
Projects
2024: Caboodle – collaborative residency- Backwater Studio 12.
2021: Creative agency project in colour, The Glucksman.
2021: Pool tile Installation – Dean Hotel Dublin
