About Siobhán McDonald

Siobhán McDonald’s practice draws attention to contemporary topics dealing with air, breath and atmospheric phenomena, weaving scientific knowledge into her art in a poetic and thoughtful manner. 

Artist Biography | Statement

Siobhán McDonald was born in New York. She lives and works in Dublin.

 Siobhán works with natural materials, withdrawing them from their cycles of generation, growth and decay. This process gives form to a range of projects which consider our place on Earth in the context of geological time. Her artworks make use of natural phenomena and technologies to stage poetic and philosophical engagements between people and their natural world. Beginning with a specific site of investigation, Siobhán weaves diverse narratives into visual stories, often inviting nature itself to participate in the creative process. Her research-driven practice employs a distinctive artistic language to express intangible processes, utilising painting, drawing, film, and sound.

 Presentation highlights include exhibitions at venues The Lab, Dublin (2026); Dublin Port (2025); Biennale des Arts et de l’Océan, curated by TBA21 at Villa Arson, Nice (2025); Art Basel Paris, Centre Culturel Irlandaise (2025); Royal Hibernian Academy, (2025); VISUAL (2024); The Model, Sligo (2023); Living Canvas Public Art Project, (2023); Palais des Beaux-Arts (BOZAR), Brussels (2022 and 2020); Ars Electronica, Austria (2022); Centrul Cultural Clujean, Romania (2022); The Weisman Museum, USA (2022); Centre for Contemporary Art ŁAŹNIA, Poland (2022); Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris (2022, 2017); Deutsches Hygiene-Museum (DHMD), Germany (2022); Volta, Basel (2021); Limerick City Art Gallery (2019); and the National Trust–Fox Talbot Museum, UK (2019), among others.

Siobhán McDonald is the recipient of prestigious international awards, including the European Commission's S+T+ARTS 4Water Programme (2024) and the inaugural Ocean Memory Award (2022). In 2023, she received further awards through the EU Commission Alumni Award (Italy), the Alfred Kordelin Foundation Climate Whirl Award (Helsinki.)

 Siobhán McDonald holds a Masters in Visual Arts Practice from IADT (2011), Dublin, and a BA (Honours) degree in Art and Design from the University of Ulster, Belfast. Her work is held in numerous public and private collections.