Background
Danielle O’Malley is a sculptor working and residing in Helena, Montana. O’Malley received her MFA from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, completed a ceramics focused post baccalaureate program at Montana State University, and her BFA from Plymouth State University. She has been a resident artist at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, and the Red Lodge Clay Center. She consistently participates in solo and group exhibitions both nationally and internationally. O’Malley’s work can be found in the collections of The Northwest Art Gallery in Minot, ND, the Silver Bow Art Gallery in Butte, MT, and the Taoxichuan Art Center in Jingdezhen, China.
Danielle O’Malley is a sculptor working and residing in Helena, Montana. O’Malley received her MFA from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, completed a ceramics focused post baccalaureate program at Montana State University, and her BFA from Plymouth State University. She has been a resident artist at Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts, the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art, and the Red Lodge Clay Center. She consistently participates in solo and group exhibitions both nationally and internationally. O’Malley’s work can be found in the collections of The Northwest Art Gallery in Minot, ND, the Silver Bow Art Gallery in Butte, MT, and the Taoxichuan Art Center in Jingdezhen, China.
Artist Statement
Growing up in a rural environment, activities like exploring the woods and gardening were a part of everyday life. This upbringing influenced where I find inspiration and fostered a profound appreciation for non-human entities. The repetition, cycles, shapes, and patterns found in the natural world are intriguing, and evoke feelings of tranquility, excitement, and a sense of amazement. This feeling of wonderment and discovery is brought into my work for viewers to engage with so that they can develop a more profound sense of gratitude for the planet’s ecosystem.
I am severely concerned about the planet’s ecological situation. My installations and sculptures initiate conversations with viewers about how we need to preserve, nurture, and cultivate what remains of the natural environment by lowering our carbon footprints and protecting non-human species. Humanities’ dependency on single use plastic objects is just one of our many destructive tendencies that is smothering and killing our ecology. My work highlights our ecological imbalance to show that it unsustainable and that people need to work harder at coexisting with the natural world. It is civilizations’ responsibility to return to sustainable living so that non-human species may flourish once again. If we do not, we will suffer the same consequences that plants and animals are currently experiencing (population decline, endangerment, and extinction). It is sad that humans are demolishing the very entity that we need in order to survive.
I am severely concerned about the planet’s ecological situation. My installations and sculptures initiate conversations with viewers about how we need to preserve, nurture, and cultivate what remains of the natural environment by lowering our carbon footprints and protecting non-human species. Humanities’ dependency on single use plastic objects is just one of our many destructive tendencies that is smothering and killing our ecology. My work highlights our ecological imbalance to show that it unsustainable and that people need to work harder at coexisting with the natural world. It is civilizations’ responsibility to return to sustainable living so that non-human species may flourish once again. If we do not, we will suffer the same consequences that plants and animals are currently experiencing (population decline, endangerment, and extinction). It is sad that humans are demolishing the very entity that we need in order to survive.
