Winner announced of 2023's The Lido Open
Artist Olivia O’Dwyer wins her own exhibition at Lido Stores Gallery in Cliftonville
After the 2023 Lido Open received more than 700 submissions, a shortlist of 49 artists was selected by guest judge Charles Williams (above, centre) and Lido Stores owner and curator Kristen Healy (above , right), before it was whittled down to the winner of the 2023 Lido Open, Irish artist Olivia O'Dwyer.
Olivia’s prize is an exhibition at the Lido Stores in August 2024.
Her winning painting, ‘Heels Together’ (oil on canvas - below), is a small, intriguing painting that draws on diaristic concerns with humour and deep humanity.
O’Dwyer is a visual artist from Limerick, living in County Wexford, and has previously exhibited individually and as part of group shows across Ireland and internationally, including her solo exhibitions ‘A Mind’s Eye’ at Kevin Kavanagh Galleries, Dublin, in 2022 and ‘Lockdown Diaries’ at Wexford Arts Centre, 2021.
International shows have included a two-week residency and exhibition in Kathmandu, Nepal, funded by Culture Ireland, and a cultural exchange exhibition in Velletri, Italy. She is the recipient of several awards, including the Agility award from the Arts Council of Ireland in 2022, an Artlinks bursary for residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in 2020-2023 and the Making and Momentum artist prize, supported by Creative Ireland and Designer Richard Malone, in 2022.
Her works are held in public collections of the EU Ambassador, the Wexford Arts Centre, Kathmandu and the International School Suzhou, China.
“I arrived at the opening late ,” says Olivia. “I had traveled from Ireland that day, was trying to get in past the crowd at the door to hear Charles speak and thought, ‘Ah, it's OK, I'm not going to win’, and two seconds later he announced my name, hence the profanities!”
“I was so surprised, the laughter that ensued that evening from my reaction was so heartwarming. I met the loveliest of people, everyone was so kind and friendly. I am so looking forward to coming back next August. Margate and The Lido Stores are a special blend of feeling at home and making meaningful connections and friendships.
“The work is a conversation between fiction and reality, the paintings are intimate scenes of one's own private gaze. I am interested in themes centred around domesticity and solitude from a female perspective, often displayed in a humorous and confessional manner.”
The Lido Open - 49 artists:
Andree Adley • Dan Bass • Broughton & Birnie • Danny Cameron • Dale Carney • Alice Carr • Rae Birch Carter • Jione Choi • Daisy Clarke • Bliss Coulthard • Barrie J Davies • Charlie Day • Tori Day • Alice Delhanty • Robin Dixon • Steve Dodd • Rory Draper • Ferha Farooqui • Stephen Foy-Philp • Gareth Griffith • Julia Hamilton • Susie Hamilton • Gillian Harding • Stephen Harwood • Mandy Hudson • Lisa Ivory • Rosie Jackson • Fabienne Jenny Jacquet • Simon Klein • Rachel Levitas • Aoibhin Maguire • Eilish McCann • R&F Mo • Peter Murray• Mary O’Connor • Olivia O’Dwyer • Tracie Peisley • Angela Rumble. • Nima Shafiani • Namarata Singh • Emily Sofaly • Emily Stevens • Michael Szpakowski • Ellie Tate • Rebecca Truscott-Elves • Toby Ursell • Clare Wilson • Ashley James Willson • Corrie Wingate
