Mel O'Callaghan

Mel O'Callaghan (born 1975) is an Australian-born contemporary artist who works in video, performance, sculpture, installation, and painting. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions around the world and received a number of awards for her artistic practice, and her work is held in a various collections in Australia and France.

Early life and education
O'Callaghan was born in Sydney, Australia in 1975. She attained a Bachelor of Visual Arts with Honours from the Sydney College of Arts, University of Sydney, and a Masters of Fine Arts in Research from the College of Fine Arts (COFA), University of New South Wales, and a Bachelor of Science Architecture from the University of Sydney.

Practice
She is interested in human behaviour, psychology, and transformative states. Her work is experiential and looks at the human condition and ritual.

O'Callaghan lives and works in Paris, France and Sydney, Australia. She and her husband, Clemens Habicht, founded the Parisian art gallery Galerie Allen in 2013.

Exhibitions
O'Callaghan has been in solo and group exhibitions around the world and received a number of awards for her artistic practice.

Centre of the Centre
Centre of the Centre was O'Callaghan's first large scale exhibition in an Australian public institution. Combining a large-scale video, sculptural installations, and regular performances, the show explored the origins of life and regeneration

The video was a result of multiple cross-disciplinary collaborations, including one with Daniel Fornari from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. It is 20 minutes long, was projected 7 metres wide, and includes underwater shots of thermal vents in the Pacific Ocean as well as the coco worm. The performances involved breath-induced trances and took place around the exhibition's glass and metal sculptures.

Centre of the Centre was commissioned by Le Confort Moderne, Poitiers; Artspace, Sydney; and UQ Art Museum, Brisbane. It premiered at the former in June 2019 and will be on show at the latter until January 2021, after which it will tour various other Australian venues.

Major solo exhibitions
O'Callaghan has had solo exhibitions in many parts of the world, including Australia, France, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the USA.


 * 2019: Centre of the Centre, Artspace, Sydney, Australia
 * 2018: Primary/Secondary Score, Barangaroo et Carriageworks, Sydney, Australia
 * 2017: Mel O'Callaghan: Ensemble, National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) Melbourne, Australia, Kronenberg Wright, Sydney, Australia
 * 2017: Dangerous on-the-way, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France
 * 2004: The Fall, Salles E.M. Sandoz M. David Weill, Cité internationale des arts, Paris, France
 * 2003: In the Half Light, 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art, Sydney, Australia
 * 2002: The Fly and the Mountain, Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), Sydney, Australia

Major group exhibitions
O'Callaghan has been involved in group exhibitions in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, and the UK.


 * 2019: Yo-Chang Art Museum, National Taiwan University of Arts
 * 2018: 200 Videos, Museo D'Art Contemporanea di Roma, Italy
 * 2018: International Film Festival Rotterdam, The Netherlands
 * 2016: L'art de la re'volte (The Art of Revolt), Hors-Pistes, Centre Pompidou, Malaga, Spain
 * 2015: Nature/Revelation, The Ian Potter Museum, National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Melbourne, Australia
 * 2014: 19th Biennale of Sydney, You Imagine What You Desire, Sydney, Australia
 * 2010: Dying in Spite of the Miraculous, Gurtrude Contemporary art Space and Melbourne International Arts Festival, Melbourne, Australia
 * 2010: La Main Numerique, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taipei, Taiwan
 * 2006: Videoformes, Prix de la Creation Video, Clermont Ferrand, France
 * 2005: National Sculpture Prize, National Gallery of Australia (NGA), Canberra, Australia
 * 2005 Videobrasil 05 15º, Internacional Video Art Biennale, São Paulo, Brazil
 * 2003: Printroom, Gertrude Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne, Australia
 * 2001: Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Award, Artspace, Sydney, Australia

Major grants, awards, residencies

 * 2019: Aide de Projet, Fondation National des Arts Graphiques et Plastiques (FNAGP)
 * 2017: Finalist, Prix Meurice pour l'art contemporain, France
 * 2017: Fondation National des Arts Graphiques et Plastiques (FNAGP), Artist Studio, Nogent-sur-Marne, France
 * 2017: Cité internationale des arts, Artist Residency, Paris, France
 * 2016: Cité internationale des arts, Artist Residency, Paris, France
 * 2015: Recipient, Prix SAM pour l'Art Contemporain, France
 * 2014: Nominated for the Bernd Lohaus Prize, Belgium
 * 2014: Finalist, Kaldor Public Arts Projects, Sydney, Australia
 * 2011: Cité Internationale des Arts, Artist Residency, Paris, France
 * 2007: Cité Internationale des Arts, Artist Residency, Paris, France
 * 2005: Cité Internationale des Arts, Artist Residency, Paris, France
 * 2005: National Sculpture Prize, Finalist, National Gallery of Australia (NGA), Australia
 * 2005: Australian Film Commission, Australia
 * 2004: Cité International des Arts, Artist Residency, Paris, France
 * 2001: Centre for Contemporary Art, Artist Residency, Prague, Czech Republic
 * 2001: Finalist, Helen Lempriere Travelling Art Award

Collections
O'Callaghan's work is held in a various collections in Australia and France.
 * Ensemble (2013) at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
 * Framework (2014) at FRAC Bretagne, Rennes, France
 * Monash University Museum of Modern Art (MUMA), Australia
 * Artbank, Australian Government Art Collection, Australia
 * Attorney General's Department, Australian Government
 * Musee National d'Art Moderne/Centre Pompidou, Paris, France