August 15, 2024
The University of Montana Western Fine Arts Gallery is honored to present “Where the Deer and Antelope Played,” a solo exhibition by artist Danielle O’Malley. The gallery will host an opening reception on Thursday, September 5, 2024, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. in the Fine Arts Gallery located in Main Hall.
For years, O’Malley’s artwork has been rooted in an environmental consciousness derived from her concern for the Earth’s rapidly declining health. O’Malley’s forms are influenced by objects she encounters in her daily activities, representing warnings, the imbalance of our ecosystems, and the means for sustainable living. “Where the Deer and the Antelope Played” highlights iconography found within the western landscape.
Fences, property markers, and scars on the land (from extraction processes) are as integrated into the western landscape as flora and fauna. They act as boundaries and barriers that protect, block, identify, guide, and contain. They are also representative of colonization and the devastation that colonialist values bring to the land. According to Canadian researcher Max Liboiron, “pollution is not a manifestation or side effect of colonialism but is rather an enactment of ongoing colonial relations to land.” O’Malley’s work is a call for an anti-colonialist approach to the present-day eco-emergency. Her exhibit suggests that healthy boundaries with the natural world must be implemented so the Earth can heal from the misuse and abuse humanity inflicts upon it.
Danielle O’Malley is a multi-media, large-scale, site-specific installation, and ceramic artist residing in Helena, Montana. O’Malley received her MFA from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. Her work is rooted in an environmental consciousness that derives from concern for the Earth’s rapidly declining health. In addition to maintaining an active studio practice, O’Malley teaches, exhibits nationally, and serves her community as Executive Director for the Art Mobile of Montana and Director of Montana Clay.
Most recently, O’Malley has been interviewed on the “Tales of a Red Clay Rambler” podcast; recognized and chosen for publication by “Ceramics Monthly”, “Surface Design Association Quarterly Journal,” “NCECA Annual Journal,” and “Studio Potter Journal”. She has been a demonstrating artist at NCECA, a recipient of multiple local, state, and national grants, and an American Craft Council Emerging Artist finalist. O’Malley’s work is in permanent collections at the Northwest Art Gallery, the Taoxichuan Art Center, and numerous private collections.
O’Malley will be a visiting artist and Adjunct Instructor of Ceramics this fall at the University of Montana Western. It will be an honor to view her work in person as part of the gallery’s educational mission to engage students in gallery activities. Please join us!
The reception is free and open to all and will feature light refreshments. The “Where the Deer and Antelope Played” exhibition will be open for viewing from September 5 to October 18, 2024. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
For more information, please contact Montana Western Fine Arts Gallery Coordinator, Jennifer Boysen, at [email protected].
