DHR Communications is delighted to announce the launch of a new exhibition of paintings by artist Lesley-Ann O’Connell as part of our Office Art Artist in Focus initiative. Earlier this year under our CSR programme, we made our office wall spaces available to artists and creatives based in Dublin 8 who would like an opportunity to display their work – free of charge.

Following on from the success of our initial artist in focus exhibition with Colin Eaton, we now have another artist with a strong connection to the Dublin 8 area exhibiting on our walls. Lesley-Ann O’Connell is an artist from County Meath who graduated with a Bachelors and a Masters in Fine Art Painting from the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) in 2008 and 2014. Dublin 8 resonates deeply for her through her education at NCAD, her solo shows in the area and through her maternal grandparents from Inchicore.

Lesley-Ann O’Connell’s paintings are about colour, surface and space. They are about capturing movement, energy and feeling. Very often a painting is started with a question such as what would a black painting look like; what would a yellow painting look like; how do you paint a vase of flowers without painting a vase of flowers?

With the addition of paint such questions succumb to the workings and processes within the studio and re-emerge in an unexpected way. This happens through allowing chance and accident to inform the work as well as intentional applications and approaches. Lesley-Ann strives to give each painting a sense of being an independent world, where colour, space and line answer directly to the needs of the picture.

Most recently Lesley-Ann has exhibited with the Kevin Kavanagh Gallery for her solo exhibition Midnight Swim (2019). Between 2009 and 2018 she has exhibited in Dublin showing work with galleries including NCAD, Monster Truck, Taylor Galleries and SO Fine Art Editions. She had her first solo-show Surface in Motion (2015) with Pallas Projects Studios. She has also shown with the Kevin Kavanagh Gallery for a group exhibition, Island Life (2018). She has participated in group shows country-wide, with the Solstice Arts Centre, Navan; Visual in Carlow; The Model in Sligo; and Custom House Studios, Westport. She was recipient of Painting Prize at Claremorris Open Exhibition (2017) and Lesley-Ann’s public collections include works in AXA, IMACT (FORSA) and the OPW.

Visitors are welcome to come and view Lesley-Ann’s work at DHR, which will be on display until the end of December 2019. If you are interested in making a purchase, please contact Lesley-Ann via ilikeirishweather@gmail.com. You can view additional pieces of Lesley-Ann’s work on www.lesleyannoconnell.com; on the Kevin Kavanagh Gallery website; or on Lesley-Ann’s Facebook account.

DHR would like to extend its thanks to Lesley-Ann for collaborating with us on this project.

Violet

Bone Cold

Wild Bunch

Internalised Seascape

Environmental