Eva O’Leary (b. 1989) is an artist who works primarily with photography and video. Her work navigates structural and social systems that perpetuate ideologies of fantasy, power, and control within American society specifically focused on the impact on young women and their experiences in the world. Her work is deeply personal, using her own experiences, memories, and journals as the foundation of her practice.
O’Leary received her BFA from California College of the Arts in 2012 and her MFA from Yale School of Art in 2016. She was the recipient of the Outset Unseen Exhibition Fund in 2019, the Hyères Festival Photographie Grand Prix in 2018, The Vontobel Contemporary Photography Prize in 2017, and was named a Foam Talent in 2014. She has exhibited her work internationally, including at the CAFA Art Museum (Beijing), FOAM (Amsterdam), Villa Noailles (Hyeres, France), l’Atelier Néerlandais (Paris), Benaki Museum (Athens), and Aperture Foundation (New York). Her work has been featured in various publications, including ArtForum, Elephant Magazine ,1000 Words, and The New Yorker.
2019 Spitting Image, The Butler Gallery, Kilkenny Castle, Ireland (Solo)
2019 Spitting Image, Longwood University Art Museum, Virginia (Solo)
2019 Looking Back, Pier 24, San Francisco, CA
2018 3rd Beijing Biennial, CAFA Art Museum, Beijing (Biennial)
Selected Group Exhibitions
2021 Face Control, curated by Urs Stahel, Fundacion Foto Colectania, Barcelona, Spain
2020 Reset, FUTURES, online
2019 Snap Judgements, Gallery of Photography, Dublin, Ireland
2019 Close to Home, Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles, CA
2019 Radial Survey, Silver Eye Center for Photography, Pittsburgh, PA
2018 ING Unseen Talent Award, Unseen Amsterdam
2018 Everyday Muse, LTD, Los Angeles, CA
2018 Said by her, Lesley Heller Gallery, New York, NY
2018 HYERES Festival, Villa Noailles, Hyeres, France
2018 Camouflflage, deceive, imitate, Curated by Josiane Imhasly, Old Factory, Zurich
2017 Visible Range, Deli Gallery, NY
2017 Public Installation for Biblioteca Panizzi, Curated by Luca Massaro, Reggio Emilia, Italy2017 Fondo Malerba per la Fotografifia, Fabbrica del Vapore, Milan, Italy
2017 We Need To Talk, Petzel Gallery, New York, NY
2017 Winter, Thomas Jaeckel Gallery, New York, NY
2016 The Castle of Perseverance, Curated by Molly Surno, CRUSH Curatorial, Amagansett, NY
2016 REVIVER, ASHES/ ASHES, Los Angeles, CA
2016 REVIVER, Johalla Projects, Chicago, IL
2016 REVIVER, Danziger Gallery, New York, NY
2016 Treading Water, TGIF Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2016 Hillyer Art Space, Washington DC
2015 Black Mirror, Aperture Foundation, New York, NY