Michael "Micky" Donnelly (1952 – 13 September 2019) was a Northern Irish painter, sculptor and installation artist.[1][2][3]
Micky Donnelly | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1952 |
| Died | 13 September 2019 (aged 66) |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Alma mater | Ulster University |
| Notable work | Belfast Series Reflex Series Proposition Series |
| Spouse | Noreen O'Hare (until 2002, her death) |
| Elected | Aosdána (1996) |
| Website | mickydonnelly |
Early life
editDonnelly was born in Belfast in 1952. He attended St Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School, Belfast and initially studied maths, computer science and astronomy at Queen's University Belfast; he dropped out and became active in the People's Democracy movement, working as a social worker in the Divis Flats.[4] He later studied for a BA and MA in fine art at University of Ulster, Belfast in 1976–81.[5]
Career
editIn 1985 he won the Arts Council of Northern Ireland Scholarship at the British School at Rome.[6][3]
He was elected to the elite artistic institution Aosdána in 1996.[7]
According to The Irish News, "Donnelly had been questioning political, religious and societal norms from an early age and his critiques as an artist often employed familiar cultural images, such as Easter lilies, James Connolly's hat or Edward Carson's statue, but transposed onto abstracted backgrounds."[4]
Personal life and death
editDonnelly was married to the sculptor and curator Noreen O'Hare (1957–2002); she was the first director of the Ormeau Baths Gallery.[8][9] Donnelly died in 2019 of an intracerebral hemorrhage; he donated his lung and kidneys.[10][11]
References
edit- ^ "Micky Donnelly (1952 – 2019)". Arts Council NI. 16 September 2019.
- ^ Windsor, Alan (10 September 2020). British Sculptors of the Twentieth Century. Routledge. ISBN 9781000160529 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Circa: Contemporary Art Journal". Artists Collective of N. Ireland. 9 October 1984 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b "Micky Donnelly: Belfast painter 'helped put Northern Ireland's visual arts on international map'". The Irish News. 19 October 2019.
- ^ "CV Summary | Micky Donnelly: Contemporary Artist". www.mickydonnelly.com.
- ^ "Donnelly, Micky, b.1952 | Art UK". artuk.org.
- ^ "Aosdána". aosdana.artscouncil.ie.
- ^ "Working in sympathy". The Irish Times.
- ^ "National Irish Visual Arts Library: O'Hare, Noreen". www.nival.ie.
- ^ webmaster, Arts Council (17 September 2019). "Arts Council expresses its regret at the death of Micky Donnelly". www.artscouncil.ie.
- ^ "Passing of founder member Micky Donnelly – QSS Studios & Gallery".