Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically “Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power” and Adrienne Maree Brown’s “Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good”. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power and Adrienne Maree Brown’s Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
The stand-out piece for me - and I assume many of its visitors - was 'St. Agatha, or Disco Tits or 5318008'. Made in 2022 and measuring 15x7x5cm, the carved rose quartz, imitation pearls and blu tack are clearly intended to represent a pair of breasts, inspired by St. Agatha of Sicily who was martyred by her faith is represented by a pair of breasts on a plate. She is the patron saint of Sicily, breast cancer patients, and victims of sexual assault, and the materials chosen are clearly intentional. Rose quartz is synonymous with the heart and unconditional love, and the striking mix of materials used—the “high” rose quartz and pearls in comparison to the “low” blu tack—is essential to the message of the piece. Disco Tits is a response to the kyriarchal attempts to separate the body from the spirit, sexuality from divinity, and police femme bodies.
A more overtly humorous piece, entitled 'The World Would be a Better Place if We All Ate More Pussy or Síle na Gig (Diptych)' features two Jacob’s Mikados, clearly chosen due to the common technique of eating the biscuit, where one would lick out the jam in the centre of the marshmallow on either side. As well as being immediately visually recognisable to all Irish attendees, this work is playful and seamlessly compliments the serious undertones of Donnellan's work. Donnellan adds in their description of the work that the biscuits had been “licked out and hot glued to the wall”.
Karen Donnellan: Cosmic Wetness is showing at Royal Hibernian Academy’s Corner Gallery until 1st October 2023.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically “Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power” and Adrienne Maree Brown’s “Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good”. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power and Adrienne Maree Brown’s Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
The stand-out piece for me - and I assume many of its visitors - was 'St. Agatha, or Disco Tits or 5318008'. Made in 2022 and measuring 15x7x5cm, the carved rose quartz, imitation pearls and blu tack are clearly intended to represent a pair of breasts, inspired by St. Agatha of Sicily who was martyred by her faith is represented by a pair of breasts on a plate. She is the patron saint of Sicily, breast cancer patients, and victims of sexual assault, and the materials chosen are clearly intentional. Rose quartz is synonymous with the heart and unconditional love, and the striking mix of materials used—the “high” rose quartz and pearls in comparison to the “low” blu tack—is essential to the message of the piece. Disco Tits is a response to the kyriarchal attempts to separate the body from the spirit, sexuality from divinity, and police femme bodies.
A more overtly humorous piece, entitled 'The World Would be a Better Place if We All Ate More Pussy or Síle na Gig (Diptych)' features two Jacob’s Mikados, clearly chosen due to the common technique of eating the biscuit, where one would lick out the jam in the centre of the marshmallow on either side. As well as being immediately visually recognisable to all Irish attendees, this work is playful and seamlessly compliments the serious undertones of Donnellan's work. Donnellan adds in their description of the work that the biscuits had been “licked out and hot glued to the wall”.
Karen Donnellan: Cosmic Wetness is showing at Royal Hibernian Academy’s Corner Gallery until 1st October 2023.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically “Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power” and Adrienne Maree Brown’s “Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good”. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power and Adrienne Maree Brown’s Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
The stand-out piece for me - and I assume many of its visitors - was 'St. Agatha, or Disco Tits or 5318008'. Made in 2022 and measuring 15x7x5cm, the carved rose quartz, imitation pearls and blu tack are clearly intended to represent a pair of breasts, inspired by St. Agatha of Sicily who was martyred by her faith is represented by a pair of breasts on a plate. She is the patron saint of Sicily, breast cancer patients, and victims of sexual assault, and the materials chosen are clearly intentional. Rose quartz is synonymous with the heart and unconditional love, and the striking mix of materials used—the “high” rose quartz and pearls in comparison to the “low” blu tack—is essential to the message of the piece. Disco Tits is a response to the kyriarchal attempts to separate the body from the spirit, sexuality from divinity, and police femme bodies.
A more overtly humorous piece, entitled 'The World Would be a Better Place if We All Ate More Pussy or Síle na Gig (Diptych)' features two Jacob’s Mikados, clearly chosen due to the common technique of eating the biscuit, where one would lick out the jam in the centre of the marshmallow on either side. As well as being immediately visually recognisable to all Irish attendees, this work is playful and seamlessly compliments the serious undertones of Donnellan's work. Donnellan adds in their description of the work that the biscuits had been “licked out and hot glued to the wall”.
Karen Donnellan: Cosmic Wetness is showing at Royal Hibernian Academy’s Corner Gallery until 1st October 2023.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically “Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power” and Adrienne Maree Brown’s “Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good”. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power and Adrienne Maree Brown’s Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
The stand-out piece for me - and I assume many of its visitors - was 'St. Agatha, or Disco Tits or 5318008'. Made in 2022 and measuring 15x7x5cm, the carved rose quartz, imitation pearls and blu tack are clearly intended to represent a pair of breasts, inspired by St. Agatha of Sicily who was martyred by her faith is represented by a pair of breasts on a plate. She is the patron saint of Sicily, breast cancer patients, and victims of sexual assault, and the materials chosen are clearly intentional. Rose quartz is synonymous with the heart and unconditional love, and the striking mix of materials used—the “high” rose quartz and pearls in comparison to the “low” blu tack—is essential to the message of the piece. Disco Tits is a response to the kyriarchal attempts to separate the body from the spirit, sexuality from divinity, and police femme bodies.
A more overtly humorous piece, entitled 'The World Would be a Better Place if We All Ate More Pussy or Síle na Gig (Diptych)' features two Jacob’s Mikados, clearly chosen due to the common technique of eating the biscuit, where one would lick out the jam in the centre of the marshmallow on either side. As well as being immediately visually recognisable to all Irish attendees, this work is playful and seamlessly compliments the serious undertones of Donnellan's work. Donnellan adds in their description of the work that the biscuits had been “licked out and hot glued to the wall”.
Karen Donnellan: Cosmic Wetness is showing at Royal Hibernian Academy’s Corner Gallery until 1st October 2023.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically “Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power” and Adrienne Maree Brown’s “Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good”. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power and Adrienne Maree Brown’s Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
The stand-out piece for me - and I assume many of its visitors - was 'St. Agatha, or Disco Tits or 5318008'. Made in 2022 and measuring 15x7x5cm, the carved rose quartz, imitation pearls and blu tack are clearly intended to represent a pair of breasts, inspired by St. Agatha of Sicily who was martyred by her faith is represented by a pair of breasts on a plate. She is the patron saint of Sicily, breast cancer patients, and victims of sexual assault, and the materials chosen are clearly intentional. Rose quartz is synonymous with the heart and unconditional love, and the striking mix of materials used—the “high” rose quartz and pearls in comparison to the “low” blu tack—is essential to the message of the piece. Disco Tits is a response to the kyriarchal attempts to separate the body from the spirit, sexuality from divinity, and police femme bodies.
A more overtly humorous piece, entitled 'The World Would be a Better Place if We All Ate More Pussy or Síle na Gig (Diptych)' features two Jacob’s Mikados, clearly chosen due to the common technique of eating the biscuit, where one would lick out the jam in the centre of the marshmallow on either side. As well as being immediately visually recognisable to all Irish attendees, this work is playful and seamlessly compliments the serious undertones of Donnellan's work. Donnellan adds in their description of the work that the biscuits had been “licked out and hot glued to the wall”.
Karen Donnellan: Cosmic Wetness is showing at Royal Hibernian Academy’s Corner Gallery until 1st October 2023.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically “Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power” and Adrienne Maree Brown’s “Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good”. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power and Adrienne Maree Brown’s Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
The stand-out piece for me - and I assume many of its visitors - was 'St. Agatha, or Disco Tits or 5318008'. Made in 2022 and measuring 15x7x5cm, the carved rose quartz, imitation pearls and blu tack are clearly intended to represent a pair of breasts, inspired by St. Agatha of Sicily who was martyred by her faith is represented by a pair of breasts on a plate. She is the patron saint of Sicily, breast cancer patients, and victims of sexual assault, and the materials chosen are clearly intentional. Rose quartz is synonymous with the heart and unconditional love, and the striking mix of materials used—the “high” rose quartz and pearls in comparison to the “low” blu tack—is essential to the message of the piece. Disco Tits is a response to the kyriarchal attempts to separate the body from the spirit, sexuality from divinity, and police femme bodies.
A more overtly humorous piece, entitled 'The World Would be a Better Place if We All Ate More Pussy or Síle na Gig (Diptych)' features two Jacob’s Mikados, clearly chosen due to the common technique of eating the biscuit, where one would lick out the jam in the centre of the marshmallow on either side. As well as being immediately visually recognisable to all Irish attendees, this work is playful and seamlessly compliments the serious undertones of Donnellan's work. Donnellan adds in their description of the work that the biscuits had been “licked out and hot glued to the wall”.
Karen Donnellan: Cosmic Wetness is showing at Royal Hibernian Academy’s Corner Gallery until 1st October 2023.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically “Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power” and Adrienne Maree Brown’s “Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good”. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power and Adrienne Maree Brown’s Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
The stand-out piece for me - and I assume many of its visitors - was 'St. Agatha, or Disco Tits or 5318008'. Made in 2022 and measuring 15x7x5cm, the carved rose quartz, imitation pearls and blu tack are clearly intended to represent a pair of breasts, inspired by St. Agatha of Sicily who was martyred by her faith is represented by a pair of breasts on a plate. She is the patron saint of Sicily, breast cancer patients, and victims of sexual assault, and the materials chosen are clearly intentional. Rose quartz is synonymous with the heart and unconditional love, and the striking mix of materials used—the “high” rose quartz and pearls in comparison to the “low” blu tack—is essential to the message of the piece. Disco Tits is a response to the kyriarchal attempts to separate the body from the spirit, sexuality from divinity, and police femme bodies.
A more overtly humorous piece, entitled 'The World Would be a Better Place if We All Ate More Pussy or Síle na Gig (Diptych)' features two Jacob’s Mikados, clearly chosen due to the common technique of eating the biscuit, where one would lick out the jam in the centre of the marshmallow on either side. As well as being immediately visually recognisable to all Irish attendees, this work is playful and seamlessly compliments the serious undertones of Donnellan's work. Donnellan adds in their description of the work that the biscuits had been “licked out and hot glued to the wall”.
Karen Donnellan: Cosmic Wetness is showing at Royal Hibernian Academy’s Corner Gallery until 1st October 2023.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically “Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power” and Adrienne Maree Brown’s “Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good”. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power and Adrienne Maree Brown’s Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
The stand-out piece for me - and I assume many of its visitors - was 'St. Agatha, or Disco Tits or 5318008'. Made in 2022 and measuring 15x7x5cm, the carved rose quartz, imitation pearls and blu tack are clearly intended to represent a pair of breasts, inspired by St. Agatha of Sicily who was martyred by her faith is represented by a pair of breasts on a plate. She is the patron saint of Sicily, breast cancer patients, and victims of sexual assault, and the materials chosen are clearly intentional. Rose quartz is synonymous with the heart and unconditional love, and the striking mix of materials used—the “high” rose quartz and pearls in comparison to the “low” blu tack—is essential to the message of the piece. Disco Tits is a response to the kyriarchal attempts to separate the body from the spirit, sexuality from divinity, and police femme bodies.
A more overtly humorous piece, entitled 'The World Would be a Better Place if We All Ate More Pussy or Síle na Gig (Diptych)' features two Jacob’s Mikados, clearly chosen due to the common technique of eating the biscuit, where one would lick out the jam in the centre of the marshmallow on either side. As well as being immediately visually recognisable to all Irish attendees, this work is playful and seamlessly compliments the serious undertones of Donnellan's work. Donnellan adds in their description of the work that the biscuits had been “licked out and hot glued to the wall”.
Karen Donnellan: Cosmic Wetness is showing at Royal Hibernian Academy’s Corner Gallery until 1st October 2023.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically “Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power” and Adrienne Maree Brown’s “Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good”. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power and Adrienne Maree Brown’s Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
The stand-out piece for me - and I assume many of its visitors - was 'St. Agatha, or Disco Tits or 5318008'. Made in 2022 and measuring 15x7x5cm, the carved rose quartz, imitation pearls and blu tack are clearly intended to represent a pair of breasts, inspired by St. Agatha of Sicily who was martyred by her faith is represented by a pair of breasts on a plate. She is the patron saint of Sicily, breast cancer patients, and victims of sexual assault, and the materials chosen are clearly intentional. Rose quartz is synonymous with the heart and unconditional love, and the striking mix of materials used—the “high” rose quartz and pearls in comparison to the “low” blu tack—is essential to the message of the piece. Disco Tits is a response to the kyriarchal attempts to separate the body from the spirit, sexuality from divinity, and police femme bodies.
A more overtly humorous piece, entitled 'The World Would be a Better Place if We All Ate More Pussy or Síle na Gig (Diptych)' features two Jacob’s Mikados, clearly chosen due to the common technique of eating the biscuit, where one would lick out the jam in the centre of the marshmallow on either side. As well as being immediately visually recognisable to all Irish attendees, this work is playful and seamlessly compliments the serious undertones of Donnellan's work. Donnellan adds in their description of the work that the biscuits had been “licked out and hot glued to the wall”.
Karen Donnellan: Cosmic Wetness is showing at Royal Hibernian Academy’s Corner Gallery until 1st October 2023.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically “Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power” and Adrienne Maree Brown’s “Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good”. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power and Adrienne Maree Brown’s Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
The stand-out piece for me - and I assume many of its visitors - was 'St. Agatha, or Disco Tits or 5318008'. Made in 2022 and measuring 15x7x5cm, the carved rose quartz, imitation pearls and blu tack are clearly intended to represent a pair of breasts, inspired by St. Agatha of Sicily who was martyred by her faith is represented by a pair of breasts on a plate. She is the patron saint of Sicily, breast cancer patients, and victims of sexual assault, and the materials chosen are clearly intentional. Rose quartz is synonymous with the heart and unconditional love, and the striking mix of materials used—the “high” rose quartz and pearls in comparison to the “low” blu tack—is essential to the message of the piece. Disco Tits is a response to the kyriarchal attempts to separate the body from the spirit, sexuality from divinity, and police femme bodies.
A more overtly humorous piece, entitled 'The World Would be a Better Place if We All Ate More Pussy or Síle na Gig (Diptych)' features two Jacob’s Mikados, clearly chosen due to the common technique of eating the biscuit, where one would lick out the jam in the centre of the marshmallow on either side. As well as being immediately visually recognisable to all Irish attendees, this work is playful and seamlessly compliments the serious undertones of Donnellan's work. Donnellan adds in their description of the work that the biscuits had been “licked out and hot glued to the wall”.
Karen Donnellan: Cosmic Wetness is showing at Royal Hibernian Academy’s Corner Gallery until 1st October 2023.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically “Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power” and Adrienne Maree Brown’s “Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good”. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
Donnellan’s artistic approach and practice can be wonderfully summarised by their artist’s statement on The Dean Art Studio’s website: “Queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity, sonic alchemy, queer futurism, metaphysics, and pleasure activism.”
Karen Donnellan (she/they) graduated with a Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Glass from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Ireland and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology, New York, US. Their multidisciplinary art practice is concerned with illustrating that which cannot be physically held, paradoxically, evoking the intangible essence of things, rather than a traditional art object that focuses on the concrete presence of the item presented. Donnellan’s work conjures a consciousness rather than an extreme visual focus but, of course, this is not to say that the artist’s work is not visually impressive. Yet, an onlooker can easily sense that this art goes beyond the senses,
These works of art are reflective in more ways than just metaphorical; through the incorporation of glass to manipulate light, Donnellan’s pieces possess a weightlessness which is fitting considering the desire to “evoke the intangible essence of things”. As well as light, sound has previously been utilised in the artist's work, creating vibrations. Forcing multiple senses to participate in the viewing process gives Donnellan's work depth that is difficult to describe.
As they admit, the artist's work is heavily inspired by the work of feminist writers such as Audre Lorde, specifically Uses of The Erotic; The Erotic as Power and Adrienne Maree Brown’s Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good. Donnellan's work is undeniably queer, feminist, playful, sex-positive, tongue-in-cheek and pro-radical craft. The works serve as a response to the kyriarchal attempt to separate bodies from spirit, sexuality from divinity, and distort sacred truths; in feminist theory, kyriarchy is a social system or set of connecting social systems built around domination, oppression, and submission.
Most strikingly, there is a level of playfulness and humour in Donnellan’s work, making it digestible and pleasant to view and adding another level of metaphorical lightness. Their website is littered with phrases such as “physics makes me horny”, “sacred geometry with your titties out” and the previously mentioned “queerness as a multidimensional portal for divinity”.
“Cosmic Wetness” encapsulates all that has been discussed above, from light and weightless, to humour, to queerness and feminist approach.
The stand-out piece for me - and I assume many of its visitors - was 'St. Agatha, or Disco Tits or 5318008'. Made in 2022 and measuring 15x7x5cm, the carved rose quartz, imitation pearls and blu tack are clearly intended to represent a pair of breasts, inspired by St. Agatha of Sicily who was martyred by her faith is represented by a pair of breasts on a plate. She is the patron saint of Sicily, breast cancer patients, and victims of sexual assault, and the materials chosen are clearly intentional. Rose quartz is synonymous with the heart and unconditional love, and the striking mix of materials used—the “high” rose quartz and pearls in comparison to the “low” blu tack—is essential to the message of the piece. Disco Tits is a response to the kyriarchal attempts to separate the body from the spirit, sexuality from divinity, and police femme bodies.
A more overtly humorous piece, entitled 'The World Would be a Better Place if We All Ate More Pussy or Síle na Gig (Diptych)' features two Jacob’s Mikados, clearly chosen due to the common technique of eating the biscuit, where one would lick out the jam in the centre of the marshmallow on either side. As well as being immediately visually recognisable to all Irish attendees, this work is playful and seamlessly compliments the serious undertones of Donnellan's work. Donnellan adds in their description of the work that the biscuits had been “licked out and hot glued to the wall”.
Karen Donnellan: Cosmic Wetness is showing at Royal Hibernian Academy’s Corner Gallery until 1st October 2023.
