A Sparkling Party For over 30 years O’Dwyer’s artwork has explored the subtleties of ritual and imagination. Irish prehistoric art, bronze-age artefacts, early monastic metalwork, 20th century design and architecture are his creative influences. Equipped with this visual vocabulary O’Dwyer has created artefacts that often combine the textured surfaces and flowing lines of our past with the strong and austere forms of modern architecture. His ultimate goal has been to create a work of art that is timeless, thought provoking and responsive to the human spirit.
“Sparkling Party” will feature a collection of flowing and architectural forms that have been the trademark of a career that has blurred the boundaries between art and craft. Eleanor Flegg’s introduction to the “Sparkling Party” catalogue states, “ O’Dwyer has an affinity with the
sculptural interpretation of mundane household items, but especially with teapots. His Party Teapot abandons itself to a wild coiffeur of silver, like the wedding headdress with more money than sense, while a self-contained Rocking Teapot balances quietly on a curved base, made from a continuation of its handle.”
O’Dwyer has recently received a National Endowment for the Arts award to work as artist in residence at Pratt Fine Arts Centre in Seattle, Washington. Michelle Bufano, Director of Pratt Fine Arts Centre states, “Much like himself, O’Dwyer’s work is an unconventional mix of tradition and innovation. Dramatic and elegant in its form, the work engages the viewer to look beyond the main object to the space that surrounds. It whirls in a frozen dervish dance that embraces the air and makes the negative form part of the piece.” O’Dwyer will continue to explore the relationship between form and function creating a series of sculptural glass and metal artefacts during his residency.
Part of the Independents Liverpool Biennial strand.
Kevin O’Dwyer