Bio
Shane O’Malley is an Irish artist whose work explores colour, forms and symbols through painting. It is a meeting point of a studio practice and public mural art.
Shane’s strong use of colour stems from his origins in graffiti culture. Shane began painting graffiti in 2001 drawn to the act of writing his name, which was creative in one way while destructive in another.
Drawing and painting created the habit of processing through the act of making. Shane’s artwork has explored personal themes that developed into bodies of work - “Madness vs Reality”(2014), “Duality” (2017) and “Order and Chaos” (2018). Through the work, Shane explored the balance and tension in contrasting colours, the order found in complementary colours and harmonious tints. Shane is drawn to both the meditative slow process of painting with a brush in the studio and the faster act of spray painting and making art in public spaces.
He has painted graffiti and murals around Ireland and Europe. His artwork is now held in private collections in Ireland, the UK, Norway and the US.
Born in 1985, Originally from Navan Shane is based in Galway city.
Selected projects & exhibitions to date:
2022:
“From the outset” - Group show in Outset Gallery, Galway
“Do you dream?” - Group show in The Space between, Dublin
“Páipéar” - Group show in Hang tough contemporary, Dublin
2021:
“Winter show” - Group show in Hang tough contemporary, Dublin
Commissioned to create paintings for "The Dean Galway"
Commissioned by Core capital to create a painting that was developed into a building wrap on No 12 Dawson street, Dublin
2020:
Commissioned by Hope It Rains a project part of Galway 2020, European Capital of Culture to create 2 murals incorporating water-reactive paint.
Featured in episode 12 of Samhlú Croí Cruthaitheach. A season of twelve commissioned abstract short films featuring artists and creatives for TG4 and Creative Ireland.
2019:
Commissioned by UV Arts to paint a large-scale mural inspired by the famine in Derry, Northern Ireland.
Kolours for Kolkata, India.
Mural project with Irish charity The Hope Foundation that provides protection, healthcare, education, and vocational training to street children and slum communities.
2018:
“Art and Style”
Exhibition and window display in Brown Thomas, Dublin
Commissioned to paint an abstract painting for the foyer of St. James’s Hospital, Dublin, celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Irish Haemophilia Society.
Supported by the Local Enterprise Office Galway