Laurence O'Toole

Laurence O’Toole is a realist painter in both oil and acrylic, whose work is a melding of figurative and nature with a surrealist approach to convey the message in his works. A self taught artist from Ireland, he has had many solo shows, in Ireland and abroad and is present in many group shows including museums in the USA. He has won two awards at the Royal Ulster Academy and has shown at the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin and Royal Scottish Academy. His work has been collected by the OPW and featured in publications and in collections of Banks, film directors, actors, and state institutions. He has also completed many residencies, including Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Spain and France and is part of the time capsule programme that has 15,000 pieces of digital art, music and literature that is on board the Peregrine Lander headed to the moon later this year. Currently his work is in the 20 year anniversary of 9/11, which is touring the States and shows in Gallery 33 Contemporary in the USA and Hambly and Hambly here in Ireland.

My work deals with the narrative of life, it teases out the story of why we do what we do, how we connect and why we don’t. I am constantly trying to illustrate the human spirit and find myself interested in our spirituality, a spirituality that comes from our very existence, our connection and our place in this world. I find myself now concentrating on what is important in my work, the narrative, the movement, the colour, the core of the piece and the soul. It’s the meaty issues that affect us all and I try and illustrate these, all the while , trying to arrive at something beautiful

Selected Solo Exhibitions – 2022 Escapism and other desires, Hambly and Hambly, Enniskillen, Northern Ireland 2021 Framing the Landscape, Signal Arts Centre , Bray, Ireland 2020 Laurence O’Toole and Jade Butler, Signal Arts Centre, Bray, Ireland 2012 Wealth in Society – Manhattan, New York. 2011 Liberty – Gormleys Fine Art. Belfast 2011 The carousel series – Gormleys Fine Art. Dublin 2010 Michael Smyth and Laurence O Toole, Gormleys Fine Art, Dublin. 2007 Without Borders -Oisin Gallery, Westland Row, Dublin. 2005 Running too fast – Oisin Gallery, Westland Row, Dublin. 2005 Light and Hope – Kilkenny Arts Festival 2003 Masie J – Oisin Gallery, Westland Row, Dublin. 2003 The nature of all – Metatron Gallery, Enniskerry, Co Wicklow Selected Group Exhibitions – 2022 PTFN, Group show at the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art Wisconsin USA 2022 Royal Ulster Academy 141st Annual show Belfast 2022 Royal Scottish Academy 196th Annual Show. Scotland 2022 Royal Hibernian Academy 192nd Annual show, Dublin, Ireland 2021 20th Anniversary of 9/11 – 60 invited international artists. Dallas Texas. USA 2021 Lethbridge Annual Show, Brisbane, Australia 2021 Iconic, Group show at the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art Wisconsin USA 2021 Au Natural, 33 Contemporary, Chicago, USA 2021 Florals, Contemporary, Chicago, USA 2020 Shelter, 33 Contemporary, Chicago, USA 2020 Royal Ulster Academy, Belfast. Annual show 2020 Lethbridge Annual Show Brisbane, Australia 2020 Aberdeen Arts Society Annual show 2020 Flinders lane Gallery, Melbourne, Australia 2019 Royal Ulster Academy, Belfast. Annual show 2019 Signal arts Centre, Ireland, Annual show. 2019 Variety Issue – PoetsArtists publication, USA 2019 Adorn me- PoetsArtists with Zhou B Art Centre, Chicago.USA 2018 Royal Ulster Academy Belfast, Annual show 2018 Carlow artworks annual show Visual art centre Carlow 2018 Royal Hibernian Academy Dublin, annual show. Dublin 2017 Royal Ulster Academy annual show, Belfast Museum 2017 2 month residency Japan, Group show, Fukuoka. Japan 2016 Royal Ulster Academy Belfast. 2016 2 Month residency New Zealand, Group show, Wellington. NZ 2015 Royal Ulster Academy Belfast. 2014 Barbara Stanley, London. Sharon O Farrell, NY 2013 O Farrell Galleries, New York 2013 Barbara Stanley Gallery, London. 2012 Gormleys Fine Art, Dublin 2010 Red Rag Galleries England 2009 Gallery 13, California 2009 Red Rag Galleries England