top of page

biography.

Born in St. Andrews, O’Donnell is an award-winning Scottish painter currently working on the series of paintings, 'Surface BPM'. After 18 years of professional practice in Northern Norway, she now has studios in Spain and Scotland.

With a Masters in Contemporary European Fine Art, she is an accomplished lecturer, recently being invited to talk at The Department of Arts and Humanities, New York University, Abu Dhabi (NYUAD). 

As a curator and parallel with her own art practice, she spent five years as Director of Galleri NordNorge, the Gallery of Northern Norway, collaborating with museums and galleries such as the National Museum of Art in Oslo, showing work by Paul McCarthy, Norway 10 Designers and established international artists, while providing a platform to emerging. She has many years of experience on the boards of industrial, commercial and creative organizations such as NNBK (North Norwegian Artists’ Union), Innovasjon Norge's Creative Development Project, and as President of Fundación Sierra de Libar in Spain. Sitting on collection committees of Sparebank1 NN Art Foundation and art consultant for KORO, Norway's department of art for acquisitions in architecture, she has had the honour to commission artwork and contribute to advancing the careers of Norwegian artists.

Works are in major collections including The Scottish Office, North Norwegian Museum of Art, and The Norwegian Arts Council Collection. Recent exhibitions include a.topos International Curatorial Collective, Venice and Brussels Art Exhibition, Belgium with Monat Gallery, Madrid. In-depth articles and interviews are featured in contemporary magazines including ART Habens Review and Art Reveal Contemporary Art.

RECENT PROJECTS AND EXHIBITIONS (2017 - )

Fundación Pedro Cano de Blanca, Blanca, Spain 2022

50 Concurso Internacional de Pintura Villa de Fuente Álamo, Murcia, Spain 2022

The Way, Albe Art Gallery St. Petersburg, Russia 2022

VII Concurso de Artes Plásticas Dcoop (Sociedad Cooperativa Andaluza), Antequera, Spain 2022

Brussels Art Exhibition, Belgium with Monat Gallery, Madrid 2021

Contemporary British Painting | Exhibition 2021

COCA Project 2021, 'Artist Stories', COCA | Center Of Contemporary Artists, Rome 2021

The Creative Room, "Outside the Window Looking Within" a.topos International Curatorial Collective, Palazzo Dona Brusa, Venice 2021

The Enduring Legend of Experience, UFOFABRIK Contemporary Art at Madrid International Art Fai 2021

VIII Internacional Museo Virtual Mundoarte 2021

Trento Art Festival, Trentino, Italy 2021

Realities in the Making, International Artists Exhibition, Rossocinabro Contemporary Art, Rome 2021

Xxiv Certamen De Pintura Indalecio Hernández Vallejo Xxiv, Valencia de Alcántara, Cáceres, Spain 2020

Giornata del Contemporaneo, 'A Plural Identity', Associazione dei Musei d’Arte Contemporanea Italiani with Rossocinabro, Rome 2020

Xxvii Biennal De Pintura Vila De Paterna 2020, Gran Teatre Antonio Fernandis, Valencia, Spain 2020

Il Tempo, Casa Cava, Matero, Italy 2020

The Verona Art Prize, UFOFABRIK Contemporary Art Gallery, Moena, Italy 2020

Xxxiv Concurso De Pintura Sanvisens Y Pere Jou, Sitges, Spain 2020

Textured, Envision Arts Gallery, International online Group Show 2020

LOST, Lacuna Festival De Arte Lanzarote and Festival De Arte Fuerteventura, Spain 2020

Lost and Found Booth, Curator, Kim-Ling Morris, Lacuna Festival de Arte, Spain 2020

Outside the Form, FAB 2020, Fringe Arts Bath Contemporary Art Festival, Bath, UK 2020

Colours, Grey Cube Gallery, International Online Gallery 2020

AFTNHS, Artists for the NHS, Covid19, Gallery Different, London 2020

Supporting The Arts 2021. online exhibition, UK 2021

Post, Curatorial Response to Covid-19, UK 2020

SELF Group Show, The Artists Pool, Dundas Street Gallery, Edinburgh 2020

Housekeeping!, Group Show, Jeannie Avent Gallery, London 2020

Black and White, Group Show. Pineapple Black Arts Gallery, Middlesborough UK, 2019-2020

Surface Work. Solo Show. Toro Spacio, Ronda, Spain 2018

BLOW. Collaboration with Claire Carswell MA(RCA), Toro Spacio, Ronda, Spain 2018

Surface Work Solo Show. Antigua Cine, Montejaque, Spain 2017

PUBLICATIONS 

The Huts Magazine, Issue 4. 'Unveil' 2022

RAW. 'Artist Tomorrow' A reasoned and shared proposal on the art currently in circulation in Europe,

Rome Art Week Magazine, Edition 7 2022

Round Lemon Art Collective Artist Talk | Roanne O’Donnell 2021

The FLUX Review, Art, Culture and World Exploration Magazine, Edition 2 2020

Art Reveal Contemporary Art Magazine, Edition 53. 2020

ART Habens Art Review, Article on Surface Work, Edition Spring 2020

RESET// Contemporary Art Platform, UK, Interview and featured article, April 2020

Artist Showcase with New Emergence Art 2020

GALLERY REPRESENTATION

Gallery M&Art, Ystad, Sweden

AWARDS

 

Shortlisted for VI Certamen Internacional de Pintura “Manuel Ángeles Ortiz” Jaén, Spain

Shortlisted for Xxvii Biennal De Pintura Vila De Paterna

Shortlisted for XX Concurso Nacional de Pintura Villa de Sotillo

Shortlisted Xxxiv Concurso De Pintura Sanvisens Y Pere Jou

Shortlisted for Xxiv Certamen De Pintura Indalecio Hernández Vallejo Xxiv

Norwegian State Stipend for Professional Artists, Norsk kulturråd Arts Council Norway 

Norwegian State Material Award, Norsk kulturråd Arts Council Norway Oslo, Norway

Awarded Cross Gates Gallery Award, Kentucky, USA and Mall Galleries, London

Awarded Fiera del Levante Prize, ‘Artists in Puglia’. Bari, Italy

COLLECTIONS

Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum, (North Norwegian Museum of Art) Tromsø, Norway

The Scottish Office Collection, Edinburgh, Scotland

Roman Catholic Dioses of Edinburgh Collection, Scotland

Harstad Kommune Art Collection (Council of Harstad), Norway

Edinburgh College of Art, Collection, Scotland

MEMBERSHIP PROFESSIONAL ART ORGANISATIONS

Scottish Artists Union, Scotland, UK

uavA. (Unión de Artistas Visuales de Andalucía), Spain

Nord-Norske Bildende Kunstnere (NNBK), Svolvær, Norway

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

 

Horizontal Works. Solo Show, Galleri Nordaførr, Bodø, Norway

Horizontal. Solo Show, Galleri NordNorge, Gallery of Northern Norway, Harstad, Norway  

Furness/Moen/O’Donnell/Skotnes. Tromsø Kunstforening, Tromsø, Norway  

Den 7. Tromsutstillinga (7. Troms Region Art Exhibition), Tromsø, Norway  

Transatlantic Connections, Society Of Scottish Artists, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh  

Solo Show, Southampton University, Faculty of Arts Dept., Southampton  

Cheltenham and Gloucester Drawing Show, Berlin | Hull  

Group Show, Can Felipa, Barcelona, Spain  

Art on the Rock, Stirling Castle, Stirling  

Celtic Conexion. Euskal Extea, Centre Cultural, Barcelona, Spain  

British Workhouse Gallery, Dallas, Texas, USA 

Scottish Contemporary Painters and Printmakers Exhibition, Edinburgh 

Beatrice Royal Contemporary Art Gallery, Southampton  

Grandisca. Group show, Museo Nuova Era, Bari and La Spezia, Italy  

Scottish Painters Group Show. Frontiers Gallery, Edinburgh 

Incontri d’Arte. Group Show, Guild Gallery, Bristol  

New Works. Solo Show. Galleria Panorama, Barcelona, Spain  

New Works in Architecture. Solo Show. Cloister Gallery, Bristol  

Artist-in-Residence, Clifton College, Bristol  

Doric Work. Solo Show, Studio Gallery, Edinburgh  

Solo Show. Loretto Gallery, Musselburgh, Scotland  

New Works. Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (R.I.A.S.), Edinburgh  

Facade. Solo Show, Hillside Gallery, Edinburgh  

Incontri D’Arte. Group Show, Bari, Italy  

New Generation Show. Mercury Gallery. London  

EXECUTIVE BOARD POSITIONS

 

Chairman, Foundation Sierra de Libar, Spain. 2015 - present.

Board Member for Creative Development Project, Innovasjon Norge, Norway 2013 - 2017

Board Member, Sparebank1 Nord Norge (Savings Bank) Art Foundation, Norway 2012 - 2016

Board Member, Harstad Regional Chamber of Commerce, Norway 2006 - 2009

Board Member, Kunskapsparken Nord (Knowledge Park North), Norway 2006 - 2008

Member of Selection Committee/Art Consultant, Bø i Vesterålen Hospital, Straumen, Norway 2004 - 2006

Board Member Nordnorske Billende Kunstnere (Professional Artists Union) Norway 2001 - 2006

Board Member, Festspillene I Nord-Norge (Festival of Arts), Norway 2003 - 2008

Member of Advisory Board, Festspillene I Nord-Norge (Festival of Arts), Norway 2003 - 2006

Curator ILIOS Festivalen (Anual Festival of Contemporary Music), Harstad Norway 2001

professional cv.

 

 

PRESIDENT OF FUNDACIÓN SIERRA DE LIBAR

Montejaque, Spain (remote and on-site voluntary position)

July 2017 - ongoing

The Fundación Sierra de Libar is a non-profit foundation, based in Montejaque, Andalusia, Spain. I have been the President since its beginning in 2015. The foundation was created to contribute to the recovery, conservation, protection and enhancement of the Historical, Cultural and Ethnographic heritage of the Sierra de Líbar or Macizo de Libar

ABOUT

EXPERT EVALUATOR FOR EIT CULTURE & CREATIVITY 

Remote

April 2023 - ongoing

 

EIT Culture & Creativity is an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a knowledge and Innovation Community designed to strengthen and transform Europe’s Cultural and Creative Sectors and Industries (CCSI) by connecting creatives and organisations to Europe’s largest innovation network.

GALLERY DIRECTOR | CURATOR

Galleri NordNorge, Harstad, Norway

Sept 2012 - Aug 2017

ABOUT

​FOUNDER AND CEO of A:RT GYMSAL A.S.

Harstad, Norway

Nov 2004 - July 2016

AWARDS

Harstad Profileringspool. ‘Seire ved å dele-prisen’ (Success Through Sharing Prize) 2007

Harstad Sparebank Kulturpris (Bank of Harstad Culture Prize) 2007

Rotary CLub of Harstad Building Preservation Prize 2011

www.artgymsal.no

ABOUT

COURSE DEVELOPER AND LECTURER FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

Kunstrom 7 (Art Room 7) Trastad Samlinger, Norway | Sør-Troms Museum, Norway

Sept 2010 - Sept 2013

 

Kunstrom 7 was a collaboration between Trastad Samlinger (Trastad Collection, Art- and Cultural- Historical Museum), Rå Videregåendeskole (Rå Higher College of Education) and myself. We created a college equivalent foundation course in visual arts for students with special needs; three young teenage girls with Downs Syndrome and a young boy with Autism. The course provided adapted training for the development of skills in visual arts for these four students to prepare them for their future professional, artistic practice.

ABOUT

DEPARTMENT HEAD FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC CONSERVATION

Sør-Troms Museum, Norway   

Sept 2009 - Sept 2012

 

Department Head, responsible for leading department staff and managing the museum's extensive collection of photographic material. The position also entailed curating exhibitions, book and publication design, and illustration.

LECTURER

Nordland kunst- og filmfagskole, Kabelvåg, North Norway

Nov 1999 -  Jun 2006

My remit was to give a solid foundation in the technical and traditional skills of drawing and painting, art history and theory while encouraging the students to explore the boundaries of visual arts, and expand and challenge their thinking in content, form, methods, and processes. I collaborated with artists, filmmakers and theoreticians from across the Nordic countries and Europe.

LANGUAGES

English

Scots

Norwegian

Spanish

bottom of page