Biography
Gwen Wilkinson is an Irish artist who specialises in photography and digital composites. Wilkinson received her MFA from NCAD in Dublin, and has since been exhibiting widely. Central to her artistic practice is an exploration of the points of intersection between nature and artifice, metamorphosis and decay, fiction and reality. Through a range of landscape and still-life photographic studies she conveys a sense of enigma and the unexpected.
Elements that feature in her work include – taxidermy, bones, seeds, dried leaves and flowers. Other components include man-made objects such as wire, string and architectural structures. These motifs appear in ways that suggest transition and temporality. Wilkinson works with a variety of photographic techniques ranging from historic analogue methods such as wet plate collodion, albumen and cyanotype printing to advanced digital composites. Each process has a unique character and requires a different set of skills and level of interaction. The process and materials are integral to the works expression.
Gwen Wilkinson was a finalist for the Propeller 2013 Award for Graduate photography students, and won the Golden Fleece Award in 2011. Her work appears in many collections including the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Irish Office of Public Works.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2019 Forward, Argentea Gallery, Birmingham, UK
2011 Edifice, The Norman Gallery, Enniscorthy, Wexford
2007 Platform 059 Eigse Carlow Arts Festival, St. Patrick’s College, Carlow
2005 A Rapa das Bestas, The Watergate Gallery, Kilkenny
2003 Emigrants, The Excel Gallery, Tipperary
Selected Group Exhibitions
2022 Golden Fleece – 25 Years, Solstice Arts Centre, Navan
2019 Blarney Castle, Blarney, Co. Cork
2019 Bloom in the Park, Dublin
2019 The Book Project, Visual Centre for Contemporary Art, Carlow
2018 Richard Scott Sculpture at Ballymaloe, Cork
2017 The London Clinic, Harley St., Marylebone, London, UK
2017 Shadow Merchants, Argentea Gallery, Birmingham, UK
2017 Catherine Hammond Gallery, Skibbereen, West Cork
2017 Richard Scott Sculpture at Ballymaloe, Cork
2017 Still Lives, Gallery X, Dublin
2017 London Battersea Art Fair, Sol Art Gallery, UK
2016 Sol Art Gallery, New York, USA
2016 Chasing Shadows, Gallery X, William St. Dublin
2016 The Possibilities of Place, The 9 Stones Artists, Visual Centre for Contemporary Art, Carlow
2016 Silent Expression, Ballymaloe House, Co. Cork
2016 Borris House Festival of Writing & Ideas, The Old Laundry, Borris House, Carlow
2016 Bloom in the Park, Across Boundaries, Show Garden, designed by Barry Kavanagh. Dublin
2016 Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, UK
2015 The Graphic Print Gallery, Dublin
2015 Gallery 8, Vue Art Fair, RHA, Dublin
2015 Chasing Shadows, Dimbola House, Isle of Wight, UK
2014 Saatchi Art, From LA to Dublin, RDS, Dublin
2014 Vanishing Art, Carton House, Kildare
2014 Negative/Positive, SO Fine Art Editions, Dublin
2014 The Nine Stones Artists, Borris, Co. Carlow
2013 Lacuna [01], Taylor Galleries, Kildare Street, Dublin
2013 Vue Art Fair (Taylor Galleries), Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin
2013 Jonathan Swift Gallery, Wexford Opera Festival, Wexford
2013 RDS Student Art Awards Travelling Exhibition, Luan Gallery, Athlone, Co. West Meath
2013 Jonathan Swift Gallery, Kilkenny Arts Festival, Kilkenny
2013 RDS Student Art Awards Exhibition, RDS, Dublin
2013 Propeller Award Finalists, The Copper House Gallery, Synge St., Dublin
2013 MFA Graduate Show, Moxie Studios, Dublin
2012 The Framewell Gallery, Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny
2012 Chasing Shadows III, Centre for Creative Practices, Dublin
2012 The Nine Stones Artists, Eigse Carlow Arts Festival, Deighton Hall, Carlow
2012 First Year MFA, Moxie Studios, Dublin
2012 OAK, Killenure Castle, Cashel, Tipperary
2010 RHA Open Selection, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin
2010 Chasing Shadows I, Centre for Creative Practices, Dublin
2010 Newtownbarry Summer Exhibition, Newtownbarry Gallery, Bunclody, Wexford
Awards
2018 Thomas Dammann Junior Award
2013 Propeller 2013 Award for Graduate photography students, Finalist
2011 The Golden Fleece Award. Ireland
2009 Art Links Visual Arts Award
Collections
The London Clinic, UK
Ballymaloe House, Cork
Blarney Castle, Cork
Office of Public Works (Ireland)
Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (Ireland)
Kelly’s Hotel, Wexford
Dean Hotel. Dublin
The Lord Bagenal, Carlow
Private collections in Ireland, England, USA, Australia
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