Helen Gaynor
Visual artist, writer & musician
I am a painter, writer and musician from Wexford, Ireland, having worked in music and education, graduated from NCAD with Honours in Fine Art, Painting, and from UCD with a Masters, First Honours, in Creative Writing.
My creative practice has crossed into several art forms, including music improvisations, mixed media and work with text, and personal projects have also married painting with poetry. I have written a short screenplay, and am currently compiling a collection of poems.
Contact Information
Solo Exhibitions
2019 Fugues and Episodes, Creative Hub, Wexford Festival
2019 Cutting the Lake, Bullring Mall Public Space
2018 All One Breath, Creative Hub, Wexford Festival
2016 The Road to Bages, Peyriac de Mer, France
2009 Sea Change, Wexford Opera Festival, WAC
2007 Journey, Newtownbarry Hse, Bunclody
2005 Red, Pigyard Gallery, Wexford
2005 Colour Garden, Garter Lane, Waterford
2004 Home, Hallward Gallery, Dublin
2001 Taking wing, Waterfront Gallery, Wexford
2000 Sea stories and other tales, VEC Wexford Festival Expo
1999 Consider Eve, Eigse, Carlow, invited artist, Carlow
1998 Soul searching, dream seeking, Wexford Arts Centre
Awards
2000 Wexford County Council Bursary for Visual Arts
2007 Music Network Bursary for Professional Development
2008 Residency at Cill Rialaig Artists Retreat
2008 Artlinks Mentoring Award for Visual Arts
2011 Artlinks Multidisciplinary Bursary
2012 Highly commended in the GOD International Poetry Prize
2013 Artlinks Mentoring in Writing
2015 Artlinks Bursary for Literature
2018 Screenwriting programme, WCC and Bodecii Film
2020 RHA Micro Funding
2020 Creative Ireland funding for a collaborative project
2021 Artlinks Bursary for a printed project
Artist’s Work
Group shows include Dublin Castle, Iontas Sligo and the RHA, my degree show at the RHA, and Graduate Talent at the Guinness Gallery, Foxrock in 1995, the Hallward, Dublin, 2002 – 2008; invited artist at Boyle Arts Festival in 2003, 2005 and 2009; The Millcove, Castletownbere, 2004 – 2008; at Wexford Vocational College’s Festival Exhibition since its inaugural exhibition in 2000, when I was featured artist; at the Kelly’s Hotel Festival exhibitions from 1997 to 2003 and at Windmill Arts in Blennerville, Co Kerry in 2001.
I have travelled to Wales where my work was shown at Booklive 2000, at the West Wales Arts Centre, Fishguard in 2002, and was selected for Art from Small Nations at the Tabernacl Gallery, Machynlleth, Wales, also in 2000.
I was involved in installation of exhibitions at the artist co-operative, The Saturday Gallery, during 2015. As well as an exhibition in Peyriac De Mer, France, in May 2016, I was part of the Summer show at Newtownbarry House, Bunclody, curated by Anya Von Gosseln and Clody Norton in 2016. In 2017, I co-curated with Catherine Bowe the exhibition And Creatures Dream… A New Language (which looked at the scope of painting by artists with Wexford connections) for Wexford Co Council and Wexford Arts Centre.
In 2018 I exhibited at al’Opera, Velletri, Italy; at Kamera8, Wexford, curated by Anya Von Gosseln; and Vital Material, curated by Mary Ruth Walsh.
I am currently working on a body of paintings, broadly defined as The Wilderness Paintings, a collection of poetry The Journeywoman’s Apprenticeship, tales from the road, a collaborative project with Jeweller Lina Varna and a printed book project.
