About — Ruairiadh O'Connell | Artist & Art Psychotherapist, London
Ruairiadh O'Connell working with participants at the Science Museum, London
Arts 4 Dementia, Science Museum, London

Ruairiadh O'Connell (b. 1983, Aberdeen) is an Irish-Scottish artist based in London whose work explores perception, authorship, and the slippage between visual culture and lived experience.

His practice spans drawing, printmaking, installation, and research-led collaborations — integrating conceptual inquiry with socially engaged creative practice. O'Connell has exhibited internationally, with solo presentations at Jessica Silverman Gallery, San Francisco, and Lungley Gallery, London, and has shown work at the MMK, Frankfurt. He is selected for Drawing Biennial 2026 at Drawing Room, London.

Alongside his exhibition career, O'Connell has collaborated with UCL, Parkinson's UK, English National Ballet, the Wellcome Trust, and Alzheimer's Society — using art as a site where medical research and lived experience meet. He holds clinical training in art psychotherapy at the University of Roehampton, affiliated with the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. His practice asks what art can hold that language alone cannot.

To collaborate or commission: ruairiadhoconnell@gmail.com

Selected Solo Exhibitions
2025Ruairiadh O'Connell, Anna Paterson, Neal Tait, Lungley Gallery, London
2022Perceptions of Ted, English National Ballet, Cubitt Square, London
2017Psycho Topography, Jessica Silverman, San Francisco
2017Accurate Results, DKUK, London
2017Profiles in Custody, Josh Lilley Gallery, London
2015Solo Booth, Frieze Art Fair, Jessica Silverman Gallery, London
2014Invisible Green, Jessica Silverman, San Francisco
2014Solo Booth, Project Native Informant, MiArt, Milan
2013Pro Numb, London
2012Invites Series, 176 Zabludowicz Collection, London
2011Knuckle, Mark and Kyoko, Berlin
2011Retina Burns, Halle für Kunst, Lüneburg
2010Six Play, Bischoff/Weiss, London
2009Peek-a-boo, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt
2008You Would Never Leave Me Would You, Bischoff/Weiss, London
Selected Group Exhibitions
2026Drawing Biennial 2026, Drawing Room, London
2023The Reason for Painting, The Mead Gallery, Warwick University
2022Here We Are in Croydon, Josh Lilley Gallery, London
2020Patterns of Perception, Central Saint Martins, London
2018Kinship, Jessica Silverman, San Francisco
2015True Players, W139, Amsterdam
2015Weird Science, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York
2014Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami
2014Control Lapse, Josh Lilley Gallery, London
2013Prodigal in Blue, Laura Bartlett Gallery, London
2012Glaze, Galerie Valentin, Paris
2012Los Pasos Perdidos, Andreas Huber, Vienna
2011Encore, MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst, Frankfurt
2011Sticks and Stones, Peres Projects, Berlin
2011Keep Floors and Passages Clear, White Columns, New York
2009Sorry I Can't Stay to Do the Dishes, Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York
2009Writing Objects, Art:Concept, Paris
Fellowships & Awards

Churchill Fellowship

Research into museum practices and tailored visitor experiences for individuals living with illness, Netherlands.

Parkinson's UK Excellence Network Award, 2023

Sharing Learning and Education Award for the Patterns of Perception in Parkinson's Disease (PoP-PD) project.

Wellcome Trust Public Engagement Award, 2022

Awarded for innovative use of creative practice to foster public understanding of Parkinson's Disease through multidisciplinary collaboration.

Collaborative Projects
2024Strengthening Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Services, Alzheimer's Society / UCL / Central Saint Martins
2022Project Lead, Patterns of Perception in Parkinson's Disease (PoP-PD) — UCL, Central Saint Martins, Parkinson's UK, Wellcome Trust
Education

2025 – present

MA Art Psychotherapy, University of Roehampton

Affiliated with the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust

2006 – 2009

MA Fine Art (Meisterschule), Städelschule, Frankfurt

Professors Judith Hopf and Michael Krebber

2003 – 2006

BA (Hons) Fine Art, Oxford Brookes University

Bibliography

Steer, Emily. "New Establishment: Ruairiadh O'Connell." Elephant Magazine.

Basciano, Oliver. "Ruairiadh O'Connell's Chevron Relief III: a pattern of crime." The Guardian, 25 August 2017.

Luke, Ben. "Six Artists to Watch at Frieze." The Art Newspaper, 15 October 2015.

Gottschalk, Molly. "The 15 Best Booths at Frieze London." Artsy, 15 October 2015.

"Artist to Watch: Ruairiadh O'Connell." Contemporary Art Society, 30 September 2015.

Floor, Darren. "Finding Things Out: On Waiting, Honesty, and Hope in Ruairiadh O'Connell's Artistic Process." Flash Art.

Thibault, Sarah. "'Invisible Green' at Jessica Silverman Gallery." SFAQ.

d'Elbée, Maria. "Project Number, London, Review." This Is Tomorrow.