Stepaside Studio, Huntington, MA 01050
olwenoherlihy@gmail.com
Olwen is a member of:
The Monotype Guild of New England
California Society of Printmakers
Boston Printmakers
RESIDENCIES
FELLOW Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, Virginia Spring 2022
Tyrone Guthrie Artist Residency, Annamakerrig, New Bliss, County Monaghan, Ireland 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, September 2013, September 2018, 2022, October 2023
Olwen was born in Dublin, Ireland and emigrated with her family to the United States. She grew up in Malibu, California and Dublin, Ireland. Her primary inspirations in art are Richard Diebenkorn, Turner, Homer, and Joaquin Sorolla. Olwen paints images in oil and watercolor of the West of Ireland, as well as North Chester, where she lives in the Berkshire mountains. She is also a printmaker in intaglio, drypoint/monotype, and is a member of the Zea Mays Printmaking Studio and the Monotype Guild of New England. Olwen has been a member of the National Association of Women Artists and is currently a member of the California Society of Printmakers, The Boston Printmakers, and the Hilltown Arts Alliance.
Olwen’s paintings are in private collections in the United States and Europe. In recent years, she has exhibited at the James Joyce Centre and the Hallward Gallery in Dublin, Ireland; Smith College Alumnae Gallery, Hosmer Gallery, and the Watkins Gallery in Northampton MA. Olwen’s intaglio artwork is represented by the Zea Mays Flat File Project, and her print work has been represented in group shows at the APE Gallery in Northampton and the Ferrin Gallery in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. At the Lenox Gallery, Massachusetts, Olwen received Honorable Mention in the Fem in Art Show. Olwen has also worked for over two decades in the professional theatre in production and has designed scenery and backcloths for theatrical productions. Olwen has been producer, managing director, production manager, and stage manager for professional theatrical institutions, as well as, director of the Northampton Center for the Arts. She graduated as a Studio Art Major with a minor in Biology from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. Olwen has also studied at the L’Ecole d’Art, Vallauris, France and the Sun Valley Arts Program in Hailey, Idaho. Olwen is currently represented by her own gallery in North Chester, Massachusetts and works as an arts consultant. Olwen lived for ten years in Cleveland, Ohio where she was production manager at The Great Lakes Shakespeare Festival and helped move the company from downtown Cleveland to Playhouse Square as well as guiding the first 8 ½ hour U.S. production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby as it was presented in Chicago.
Olwen has been privileged to be a returning artist in residence at The Tyrone Guthrie Centre in autumn of 2023 and is privileged to be a past artist in residence and fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts last spring.
Olwen was the Founder and Chairman of the first Smith College ADA Alumnae Exhibition
RESIDENCIES
Fellow at Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, Virginia October 2021
Tyrone Guthrie Artist Residency, Annamakerrig, New Bliss, County Monaghan, Ireland 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, September 2013, September 2018, 2022, October 2023
EDUCATION
Smith College, Northampton, MA./ BA in Studio Art and Biology
L’ecole d’art, Vallauris, France
Member: California Society of Printmakers, The Boston Printmakers, Monotype Guild of New England, Hilltown Arts Alliance.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2000 - Spring 2024
2024
Oxbow Gallery, Easthampton, MA January 5–30, 2024
Smith College Alumnae House Gallery, Northampton, MA February 9–April 17, 2024
Storrs Library Gallery, Longmeadow, MA April 5–27, 2024
Hado Mark Gallery, Lenox, MA June 30 to September 30, 2024
2023
Hosmer Gallery, “ABOVE and BELOW” Northampton, Massachusetts December 2022-January 2023- Ocean Forests and Botanical Gardens
Elusie Gallery, Writers and Poetry, Easthampton, Massachusetts March 2023
Hope and Feathers Gallery, NATURE’S RESILIENCE, Amherst Massachusetts May 2023
Arno Maris Gallery, Westfield State University, Westfield, Massachusetts May 2023
Burnett Gallery, Virtual Exhibit, Jones Library, Amherst, Massachusetts 2023
Hilltown Studio Tour, October 1 & 2 2023
Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Annamakerrig, New Bliss County Monaghan Ireland, Artists Residency, October 2023
Hen’s Nest Gallery, Washington CT October 2023 - January 2024
A.P.E. Ltd. Gallery, Northampton, MA December 2023
2022
Northampton Senior Center, Northampton, MA 01060 November 2022
Canary in the Coal Mine - Sanford Gallery Northampton, MA. 320 Riverside Drive, Florence, MA. 01062 - Virtual and In person Exhibit. Did you know that North America has lost 30% of its bird species since the 1970s? That 2/3 of North American Birds face extinction from rising global temperatures? Printmakers were asked to promote awareness of the vast numbers of avian species that face eradication due to climate change.
2022 – Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary Gallery, Easthampton, MA
www.forbeslibrary.org - Ongoing and Online digital Exhibition
Zea Mays Printmaking - Flat File www.zeamaysprintmaking.com
Wear Orange Virtual Exhibition - Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense
Presented by the Massachusetts chapter Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Over fifty artists from around the country, including 17 survivors of gun violence answered the call for art addressing any aspect of gun violence. The 25 minute film was made by volunteers of the Massachusetts chapter of Moms.
https://ewmlibrary.org/event/screening-of-wear-orange-a-virtual-art-exhibit/
Stillness, Exhibition by Olwen Dowling - Westhampton Library, Westhampton, MA
Morgan Conservatory Gallery, Cleveland, OH - Gallery postponed until further notice due to Covid-19. Please follow the link below to view a digital version of the exhibit.
https://www.morganconservatory.org/national-juried-exhibition-2020
PAST EXHIBITIONS:
Joyce House Gallery, Dublin Ireland
Smith College, Northampton MA.
Naoussa Gallery, Tyringham, MA
Local Gallery, Easthampton, MA
A.P.E. Gallery Northampton, MA
Easthampton City Arts, Easthampton, MA
Hampton Gallery, University of MA
Augusta Savage Gallery, UMASS
Salmon Falls Gallery, Shelburne Falls, MA
Arno Maris Gallery, Westfield, MA
Sylvia Wald Po Gallery, New York
National Assn of Women Artists
Ferrin Gallery, Pittsfield, MA
Mullen Gallery, Becket, MA
Garden Gates, Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge, MA
Brickbottom Gallery, Cambridge, MA
Art Pic, North Hollywood, CA
Burnet Gallery, Amherst, MA
Becket Art Center, Becket, MA
Gallerie Luminere, Savannah, Georgia
Elusie Gallery, Easthampton, MA
Hens Nest Gallery, Washington, CT
Sandisfield Arts Center, Sandisfield, MA
Hosmer Gallery, Northampton, MA
Blackburn Gallery, Worthington, MA
Beck Center for the Arts, Cleveland , Ohio
Florence Biennale, Invited Exhibiting Artist
Watkins Gallery, Northampton
Borgia Gallery, Elms College, Chicopee, MA
Family Exhibition, Pacific Palisades, CA
Lee Library Gallery, Lee, MA
Women’s Juried Art Show, Honorable Mention, Lenox, MA
Hallward Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
Train Station Gallery, West Stockbridge, MA
Comic Cuts of New York, Smith College Gallery, Northampton, MA
Brickbottom Gallery, Cambridge, MA
Art Pic, North Hollywood, CA
Berkshire Artisans Guild, Pittsfield, MA
Artist a Meudon, Meudon, France
C.W. Nelson Sculpture Garden, Sandisfield, MA
Seasons, Burnett Gallery, Amherst, MA
Sense of Place, Becket Art Center, MA
Galerie Luminere, Savannah, Georgia
SET DESIGN
THE HOBBIT, Chester Theatre Company, Chester, MA
SO LONG SLEEPING BEAUTY, Chester Theatre Company, Chester MA
THE ROAD FROM TRENTON TO CAMDEN, Northampton, MA
LOVE LETTERS, Academy of Music, Northampton, MA
INSTITUTIONAL COLLECTIONS
Cooley Dickinson Hospital, Northampton, MA
Smith College, Northampton, MA
Private Collections United States, Ireland, England, and Europe
PUBLICATIONS:
TEXTURED LIVES, PUBLISHED SMITH COLLEGE 20002019
LitMag STCC Springfield Massachusetts
RESIDENCIES:
VIRGINIA CENTER FOR THE CREATIVE ARTS, Amherst VA April 4-17, 2022
TYRONE GUTHRIE CENTRE, Annamakerrig, New Bliss, County Monaghan, Ireland 1997, 99, 2000,2001,2017, 2018