Imaginarium
Mary O’Malley, Imaginarium, gouache on paper
On view May 31 - July 18, 2025
Sat 5/31, 4-6 pm: Opening reception
Sat 6/21, 12-6 pm: Arlington Porchfest - American Ink performs at 13FOREST at 3 pm and 5 pm
Sat 6/28, 4-6 pm: Magical Thinking - a conversation with Mary O’Malley
13FOREST Gallery is pleased to present Imaginarium, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Mary O’Malley.
With her latest body of work, O’Malley invites viewers into her whimsical and heightened version of the natural world. Imaginarium conjures a space to indulge in the wonder and enchantment of nature through joyful, idealized depictions of flora and fauna. O’Malley begins every painting with a longing to connect with nature. However instead of recreating the world around her, she amplifies the beauty in nature through saturated colors, pattern and symmetry. The tension between the reality of the living world and human-made renditions of it offers O’Malley a fruitful avenue to explore her fascination with ornamentation and the decorative arts.
In creating her most recent paintings, O’Malley was inspired by the simplicity, mirrored patterns and prevalent birds and florals found in folk art. As a departure from her previous bodies of work, O’Malley challenged herself to simplify her compositions and focus on bold colors and patterning over minute details and linework. Throughout her career, O’Malley has pushed back against traditional notions of what is considered serious or important in art. In Western traditions, vibrant color and extensive ornamentation are often seen as less sophisticated. O’Malley leans into these elements, making paintings that she calls “unapologetically pretty.” By reclaiming subjects and styles often deemed too feminine to be taken seriously, O’Malley creates work that nourishes a universal human desire to seek out beauty and joy. In Imaginarium, she manifests a fantastical world where one can experience the transcendence of nature through pattern, color and decoration.
Preview Imaginarium
About the Artist
Mary O'Malley earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 1997 and her Master of Fine Arts in 2005 from the School of Visual Arts. O'Malley's work has been exhibited widely, including Drawn to Detail at the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, and twice in the juried publication, New American Paintings. In 2010, her work was acquired by the U.S. Embassy in Dubai. In the spring of 2018, the Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts presented a solo show of her work. She has been the recipient of several grants, including two Massachusetts Cultural Council grants and, most recently, the Berkshire Taconic Foundation Artists' Resource Trust grant. She lives and works in Rochester, New Hampshire.
Gouache on paper, 23 1/4" x 19 1/4" framed
Garden of Plenty is framed in a white wood frame with non-glare plexiglass as shown in the second and third images.
Mary O'Malley earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and her Master of Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts. O'Malley's work has been exhibited widely, including a show at the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park and a solo show at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts. In 2010, her work was acquired by the U.S. Embassy in Dubai. She lives and works in Rochester, New Hampshire.
Garden of Plenty is currently on view at 13FOREST in Imaginarium, O'Malley's solo show running through July 18, 2025. It may be purchased now and will be available for delivery after Imaginarium closes.