Mel O'Callaghan


Mel O'Callaghan is an Australian contemporary artist who lives and works in Paris, France, and Sydney, Australia.
WWW melocallaghan.com

Early life and education

Mel O'Callaghan was born in Sydney, Australia in 1975.
She attained a Bachelor of Visual Arts with Honours from the Sydney College of Arts, University of Sydney, and a Masters of Fine Arts in Research from the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales, and a Bachelor of Science Architecture from the University of Sydney.

Work

O'Callaghan's work includes video, performance, sculpture, installation, and painting.

Exhibitions

O'Callaghan has been in solo and group exhibitions around the world and received a number of awards for her artistic practice.

''Centre of the Centre''

Centre of the Centre was O'Callaghan's first large-scale exhibition in an Australian public institution. Combining a large-scale video, sculptural installations, and regular performances, the show explored the origins of life and regeneration
The video was a result of multiple cross-disciplinary collaborations, including one with Daniel Fornari from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. It is 20 minutes long, was projected 7 metres wide, and includes underwater shots of thermal vents in the Pacific Ocean as well as the coco worm. The performances involved breath-induced trances and took place around the exhibition's glass and metal sculptures.
Centre of the Centre was commissioned by Le Confort Moderne, Poitiers; Artspace, Sydney; and UQ Art Museum, Brisbane. It premiered at the former in June 2019 and will be on show at the latter until January 2021, after which it will tour various other Australian venues.

Major solo exhibitions

O'Callaghan has had major solo exhibitions in many parts of the world, including Australia, France, Portugal, Philippines, Spain, Canada and the US.
  • 2024: Live Echo, Cassandra Bird, Sydney, Australia
  • 2023: Pulse of the Planet, Esker Foundation, Calgary, Canada
  • 2022: All is Life, Carriageworks, Sydney, Australia
  • 2022: Slime of Time, Galerie Allen, Paris, France
  • 2022: Samstag Museum, Adelaide, Australia
  • 2021–2023: Centre of the Centre, Tour with Museums and Galleries NSW, Australia to Samstag Museum, Adelaide; Hyphen, Wadonga; Wagga Wagga Art Gallery - National Art Glass Gallery; Western Plains Cultural Centre, Dubbo; Goulburn Regional Gallery; Glasshouse Regional Gallery, Port Macquarie
  • 2021: Primary / Secondary Score, Nuit Blanche, Paris, France
  • 2020: Centre of the Centre, UQ Art Museum, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia and Museum of Contemporary Art and Design, Manila, Philippines
  • 2019: Centre of the Centre, Artspace, Sydney, Australia and Le Confort Moderne, Poitiers, France
  • 2018: Primary/Secondary Score, Barangaroo and Carriageworks, Sydney, Australia
  • 2017: Ensemble, National Gallery of Victoria Melbourne, Australia, Sydney, Australia
  • 2001: Vagari, Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague

Major group exhibitions

O'Callaghan has been involved in group exhibitions in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, and the UK and US.

Major grants, awards, residencies

  • 2024: Laureate, Prix Carta Bianca, France and Italy
  • 2020: Finalist, The Fauvette Loureiro Memorial Scholarship, University of Sydney
  • 2019: Residency, Fondation National des Arts Graphiques et Plastiques
  • 2018: Residency, Woods Hole Oceonographic Institution; US National Science Foundation & US Navy
  • 2017: Finalist, Prix Meurice pour l'art contemporain, France
  • 2017: Finalist, ACMI / Ian Potter Moving Image Commission
  • 2017: Fondation National des Arts Graphiques et Plastiques, Artist Studio, Nogent-sur-Marne, France
  • 2017: Cité internationale des arts, Artist Residency, Paris, France
  • 2016: Cité internationale des arts, Artist Residency, Paris, France
  • 2015: Recipient, Prix SAM pour l'Art Contemporain, France
  • 2014: Nominated finalist, Bernd Lohaus Prize, Belgium
  • 2014: Finalist, Kaldor Public Arts Projects, Sydney, Australia
  • 2005: National Sculpture Prize, Finalist, National Gallery of Australia, Australia
  • 2004–2022: Awarded Project and Research Grants, Australia Council for the Arts/ Creative Australia
  • 2004–2018: Cité International des Arts, Artist Residency, Paris, France
  • 2004: Grant, Australian Film Commission, Australia
  • 2001: Residency, Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague, Czech Republic
  • 2001: Finalist, Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Award

Collections

O'Callaghan's work is held in a various collections in Australia and France.Ensemble at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
  • The Art Gallery of South AustraliaFramework at FRAC Bretagne, Rennes, France
  • Woods hole Oceanographic Institution, US
  • UQ Art Museum
  • Monash University Museum of Modern Art, Australia
  • Artbank, Australian Government Art Collection, Australia
  • Attorney General's Department, Australian Government
  • Musee National d'Art Moderne/Centre Pompidou, Paris, France