Born and raised in the Midlands, UK, Donnelly currently lives and practices in Glasgow, Scotland.
Recent artistic influences include Kathe Kollowitz, Margaret Harrison, Judy Chicago, Ana Mendieta, Pablo Picasso, Marlene Dumas, Martha Rosler, Aiweiwei, Jeremy Deller and Francis Bacon. Earlier life influences include Renaissance and Baroque artists such as Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Gentilesci and Caravaggio.
Donnelly often develops work through various transformational processes such as painting (oil, encaustic and digital), printmaking, installation, sculpture and performance, producing work in both 2D and 3D.
Process is imbued in Donnelly”s work. Her oil paintings, sculpture and etchings use methods of carving (using a hot iron with oil and encaustic and carving/ etching tools) reflecting a carving out or revealing of a subject’s more hidden or censored aspects. In a similar way her performative work seeks to carve out some covered over nugget of history or political unrest.
Until 2011, Donnelly was self taught after becoming disillusioned with art education as a teenager. After a 30 year career as a musician, over 5 years from 2011 to 2017, Donnelly studied full- time from Foundation (UWTSD) to Mlitt Fine Art Painting (Glasgow School of Art).
Donnelly has worked with Plymouth based artist Connor McIntyre, interviewed Artist Mary Branson on her recent ‘New Dawn’ commission celebrating #Vote100 suffrage in Westminster Palace (http://www.plymouthart.ac.uk/latest/blog/painting-drawing-and-printmaking-graduate-visits-westminster-to-celebrate-w/) and secured art critic Julian Spalding as keynote speaker at Plymouth College of Art student conference 2015 (http://www.plymouthart.ac.uk/latest/blog/students-host-conference-with-writer-julian-spalding-as-keynote-speaker).
Donnelly’s work has been exhibited at Supernormal Gallery, Singapore, House for an Art Lover, Glasgow and Grace Ffyfe Gallery, Glasgow School of Art, Edinburgh Scottish Art Club, Portobello Artwalk, Edinburgh, Chimera Gallery, Mullingar, Ireland, Guelph University Gallery, Canada, Maker Heights Gallery, Rame and Artmill Gallery, Plymouth.
Donnelly’s work is held in private collections in Germany, Ireland, Singapore, UK, and Canada.
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