Helen O'Leary

Helen O'Leary is an Irish-born artist based in the United States and Ireland, who is best known for constructions that blur the boundaries between painting and sculpture, art and life. She grew up with her sisters on a small farm, that she refers to as “pre-modern.” A tornado, a lightning strike, and her father’s early death left the family at risk of losing the farm. The ensuing struggle, marks O’Leary’s practice and forms the basis of its feminist language. Survival and persistence are the central armatures of her work. 

She holds an MFA and BFA degrees from SAIC. Chicago, IL. Currently based in Jersey City, NJ and Ireland, her work has been widely recognized through awards and residencies including the Rome Prize American Academy in Rome; Civitella Ranier Fellowship, the Hennessy Purchase Award, IMMA, Dublin; the Purchase Award American Academy of Arts and Letters; the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship; the Pollock-Krasner awards (2); the Joan Mitchell Award for painting and sculpture; the Culturel Irlandaise, France; the Sam and Adele Golden Residency, NY; the Mac Dowell Colony, New Hamshire; the Skowhegan program, ME; and the Yaddo Residency, NY. Among multiple and prestigious  exhibitions are the American Academy of Arts and Letters, NYC; The American Academy in Rome, Italy and NYC; The MAC Belfast, Ireland; National Gallery of Art, Ireland; Lesley Heller Gallery, NYC; Maine Museum of Art, Bangor, Maine; Muscarele Museum of Art, Williamsburg, Virginia; The Butler Gallery, Ireland; The National Portrait Gallery, Limerick, Ireland; Galerie le Petit Port, Belgium; the Contemporary Arts Centre, Sidney, Australia; Patricia Sweetow Gallery, LA; Zurcher Gallery, NYC; Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL; Glasgow Museum of Art, Scotland; and the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Ireland. O’Leary co- authored the Penn State Program Representing the Irish Landscape, which includes climate scientists, poets, writers, activists, and farmers.