O’Donoghue has compared his painting technique to ‘reverse archaeology’ as imagery emerges on his canvases through the layering of his medium. He allows himself to be led by the paint to create form in largely abstract works. His technique is constantly evolving and he integrates the methods of abstract and figurative painters from art history.
Born in Manchester in 1953, much of his work is in fact influenced by time spent in Barony of Erris in Co Mayo, Ireland, his mother’s place of origin. He gained his MA in Fine Art at Goldsmiths in 1982 and was Artist in Residence at the National Gallery, London from 1984-85.
O’Donoghue was made Royal Academician in 2009 and has had major solo museum exhibitions in Haus der Kunst, Munich; Imperial War Museum, London; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; Leeds City Art Gallery; DOX Centre for Contemporary Art, Prague; The Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin; The Gemeentemuseum, The Hague and Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris.