Debbie Godsell studied at the TUS Limerick School of Art & Design and the MTU Crawford College of Art & Design, Cork where she graduated with an MA in Art. She makes work that is primarily lens-based and has evolved to produce outcomes both in two dimensional works, sculptural forms and video. Interrogating and re-evaluating themes of identity and belonging through our contested historical relationship with land are the motivational forces underpinning each work. New outcomes explore a peripatetic culture clash of history, tradition, custom and ethno cultural notions.
Debbie’s work is collected by the National Gallery of Ireland, the OPW and the Crawford Art Gallery as part of the National Collection. She is a recipient of the Arts Council Visual Arts Bursary Awards 2022 and 2023, Cork County Arts Bursary 2022, Cork County Arts Ballinglen Artist Residency 2019, Cork County Arts Office Tyrone Guthrie Bursary 2017 Award.
Debbie Godsell Visual Artist
EDUCATION:
1994 Diploma, Fine Art Printmaking, Limerick school of Art and Design
1996 Ba (Honours) Fine Art printmaking, 2:1, Crawford College of Art Cork
2001 MA, Fine Art Research, Crawford College of Art and Design
EXHIBITION HISTORY
2026
Oceanic Imaginaries, Curated by Miquel Amado, Sirius Arts Centre.
Solo Exhibtion, Goma, Waterford October 2026.
A Space for Lismore, Invited Artist, St Carthage Hall, September 2026
2025
Flail, Solo Exhibition, Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre.
At First/I was Land, Studio 12, Backwater Artists Group, curated by Niamh Brown
2024:
Flail, Solo Exhibition, Source Arts Centre 2024.
In Plain Sight, National Gallery of Ireland, Curated by Anne Hodge.
195th RHA Annual Exhibition.
In Collaboration, Group Exhibition, Grilse Gallery, Co Kerry.
2023
194th RHA Annual Exhibition.
Harvest, solo exhibition, Bandon Library, Cork.
Body work, Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, curated by Dawn Williams.
Expanded, Graphic studio, Dublin, curated by Dr Andrew Folan.
Flail, Solo Exhibition, Cork Printmakers studio Gallery.
Radharc Perspectives in Print, Crawford Gallery, curated by Dr Michael Waldron
Visions of an Unsettled Earth, Three-person exhibition with Fiona Kelly and Sarah O’Flaherty, Hunt Museum, limerick.
2022:
Botanica, The Art of Plants Crawford Art Gallery Cork, Curated by Dr Michael Waldron
Residues, Solo Exhibition, Grisle Gallery, Co. Kerry.
Residues, Solo Exhibition, Bluehouse Gallery, Cork.
2021:
New Threads: Acquisition’s 2021 Crawford Art Gallery Cork, Curated by Dr Michael Waldron.
imPressions Print Biennial 2021 Galway Arts Festival, Nominated as Cork Printmakers Representative.
Home, West Cork Creates, West Cork Creates, O’Driscoll Building, Skibbereen, Cork.
West Cork Arts Festival Group Exhibition, O’Driscoll Building, Skibbereen Cork, curated by Ann Daveron.
Winter Exhibition 2021, So Fine Art Editions, Powerscourt, Dublin
Land under the Waves, Cork Printmakers at Nano Nagle Place
2020:
Home, Cork Printmakers at Nano Nagle Place
Visions of an Unsettled Earth, Three-person exhibition with Fiona Kelly and Sarah O’Flaherty, Sirius art Centre August 2020,
RHA Annual Exhibition 2020
Try to See it My Way, Coastline Gallery, California, Curated by Katherine Huntoon & David Michael Lee.
2019:
Seen not Heard Crawford Municipal Gallery, Curated by Anne Boddaert and Victoria Evans.
Time and the Other, Two person exhibition with Artist Susan Montgomery, Doswell Gallery, curated by Roisin Foley.
2018:
Zurich Portrait Prize, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin.
Site, Group exhibition, Doswell Gallery, Rosscarbery, Curated By Roisin Foley.
Visions of half-light, Debbie Godsell, Fiona Kelly, Sarah O’Flaherty, Macroom Town Gallery, funded by Cork County Arts office and curated by Debbie Godsell.
Art & style, Brown Thomas, Cork.
2017:
Legacy, Solo Exhibition, Rua Red, South Dublin Arts Centre, Dublin.
The Infinite Whatever, Solo Exhibition, Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford August –November, 2017, Cork Printmakers Gallery November 2016, CSN Gallery January 2017.
Impressions Printmaking Biennial, G.M.I.T, Galway, curated by Jason Hicklin (U.K)
Half Tone Print Fair, Library Project, Templebar, Dublin.
Halcyon days, Glor arts Centre, Ennis.
Ballot, First editions print symposium, NUA (Norwich University Gallery), Impact 18, curated by Noonan/Hehir.
Here and Now, First edition Print symposium, Cork Printmakers Gallery, curated by Dr Andrew Folan.
Present, curated by Sarah Kelleher, Connecticut Centre for Contemporary Printmaking, New York.
Hope, Glor Arts Centre, Ennis, Exhibition of National Printmakers, curated by Mike Byrne.
2015:
Printmakers Open Submission, Belltable Arts Centre, Limerick.
Tweet box, Impact 8 Printmaking Symposium, Hangzhou China, curated by Noonan/Hehir The Belltable Arts Centre, Lismore Castle Gallery and City Hall Atrium, Cork.
Here and Now, Macroom Town Hall Gallery, curated by Norah Norton.
2014:
Woven into Memory, an exhibition of textile work, Wexford Arts Centre.
2013:
Aether, Three-person Exhibition, Macroom Town Hall Gallery, essay by Dara Waldron.
21, Cork Printmakers at the Wandesford Quay Gallery, Cork. Art & Style, Brown Thomas, Cork.
2012:
Excavate, Cork printmakers selected exhibiton, Cork City Museum, curated by Breda Lynch.
SELECTED AWARDS:
2023: Arts Council of Ireland Visual Arts Bursary Award.
2022: Arts Council of Ireland Visual Arts Bursary Award.
2022: Cork County Arts Creative Arts Bursary Award.
2019: Ballinglen Arts Foundation Bursary Award.
2018: Shortlisted Zurich Portrait Prize
2017: Cork County Arts office Tyrone Guthrie Bursary
2004: Cork City Council Arts Award
2002: C.I.T Research Bursary
2002: Arts council Travel Award
1997: Cork Printmakers Bursary Award
COMMISSIONS AND COLLECTIONS:
2022: Cork Arts Office and Cork Library Services. Harvest Thanksgiving Archival Collection
2022: National Folklore Collection, UCD, harvest Thanksgiving Archival Collection
2021: Crawford Municipal Gallery, Permanent Collection as part of the National Collection
Dean Hotel, Cork. Dean Hotel, Galway.
2020: Office of Public Works, Permanent Collection
2019: National Gallery of Ireland, Permanent Collection.
2015: Cork Opera Commission for 160th Anniversary
2005: Port of Cork commission for Cork capital of Culture
ACADEMIC POSITIONS:
1997-2017
Course Director for Art year 1 and 2 TRC campus, Cork, Ireland
Visiting Lecturer, Fashion and Printmaking Department, Limerick School of Art and Design.
Visiting Lecturer, Sligo College of Art and Design.
Visiting Lecturer, Crawford College of Art and Design
Visiting Lecturer, Art Department, Galway Mayo institute of Technology
Teacher of specialist screen print workshops at Cork Printmakers
PUBLICATIONS
Source magazine, What to photograph, essay, Neva Elliott, 2025
Divided and Bound, Catalogue Essay, Cristín Leach, 2024
VAN, Critique, Debbie Godsell, Flail, Neva Elliot, , November 2024.
Irish Arts Review, Winter edition, 2024, Harvest Thanksgiving, essay, Stefanie Macbride.
Printmaking today, Chrystal Cheriwan
Visions of an Unsettled Earth 2020, Online Essay, Sarah Kelleher.
Visions of half Light 2018, Catalogue, Essay, Visions of Half-Light, Sarah Kelleher.
Aether, 2013, Catalogue Essay, The liminal Aporium/Into the Aether, Dara Waldron.
Debbie’s work is collected by the National Gallery of Ireland, the OPW and the Crawford Art Gallery as part of the National Collection. She is a recipient of the Arts Council Visual Arts Bursary Awards 2022 and 2023, Cork County Arts Bursary 2022, Cork County Arts Ballinglen Artist Residency 2019, Cork County Arts Office Tyrone Guthrie Bursary 2017 Award.
Debbie Godsell Visual Artist
EDUCATION:
1994 Diploma, Fine Art Printmaking, Limerick school of Art and Design
1996 Ba (Honours) Fine Art printmaking, 2:1, Crawford College of Art Cork
2001 MA, Fine Art Research, Crawford College of Art and Design
EXHIBITION HISTORY
2026
Oceanic Imaginaries, Curated by Miquel Amado, Sirius Arts Centre.
Solo Exhibtion, Goma, Waterford October 2026.
A Space for Lismore, Invited Artist, St Carthage Hall, September 2026
2025
Flail, Solo Exhibition, Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre.
At First/I was Land, Studio 12, Backwater Artists Group, curated by Niamh Brown
2024:
Flail, Solo Exhibition, Source Arts Centre 2024.
In Plain Sight, National Gallery of Ireland, Curated by Anne Hodge.
195th RHA Annual Exhibition.
In Collaboration, Group Exhibition, Grilse Gallery, Co Kerry.
2023
194th RHA Annual Exhibition.
Harvest, solo exhibition, Bandon Library, Cork.
Body work, Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, curated by Dawn Williams.
Expanded, Graphic studio, Dublin, curated by Dr Andrew Folan.
Flail, Solo Exhibition, Cork Printmakers studio Gallery.
Radharc Perspectives in Print, Crawford Gallery, curated by Dr Michael Waldron
Visions of an Unsettled Earth, Three-person exhibition with Fiona Kelly and Sarah O’Flaherty, Hunt Museum, limerick.
2022:
Botanica, The Art of Plants Crawford Art Gallery Cork, Curated by Dr Michael Waldron
Residues, Solo Exhibition, Grisle Gallery, Co. Kerry.
Residues, Solo Exhibition, Bluehouse Gallery, Cork.
2021:
New Threads: Acquisition’s 2021 Crawford Art Gallery Cork, Curated by Dr Michael Waldron.
imPressions Print Biennial 2021 Galway Arts Festival, Nominated as Cork Printmakers Representative.
Home, West Cork Creates, West Cork Creates, O’Driscoll Building, Skibbereen, Cork.
West Cork Arts Festival Group Exhibition, O’Driscoll Building, Skibbereen Cork, curated by Ann Daveron.
Winter Exhibition 2021, So Fine Art Editions, Powerscourt, Dublin
Land under the Waves, Cork Printmakers at Nano Nagle Place
2020:
Home, Cork Printmakers at Nano Nagle Place
Visions of an Unsettled Earth, Three-person exhibition with Fiona Kelly and Sarah O’Flaherty, Sirius art Centre August 2020,
RHA Annual Exhibition 2020
Try to See it My Way, Coastline Gallery, California, Curated by Katherine Huntoon & David Michael Lee.
2019:
Seen not Heard Crawford Municipal Gallery, Curated by Anne Boddaert and Victoria Evans.
Time and the Other, Two person exhibition with Artist Susan Montgomery, Doswell Gallery, curated by Roisin Foley.
2018:
Zurich Portrait Prize, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin.
Site, Group exhibition, Doswell Gallery, Rosscarbery, Curated By Roisin Foley.
Visions of half-light, Debbie Godsell, Fiona Kelly, Sarah O’Flaherty, Macroom Town Gallery, funded by Cork County Arts office and curated by Debbie Godsell.
Art & style, Brown Thomas, Cork.
2017:
Legacy, Solo Exhibition, Rua Red, South Dublin Arts Centre, Dublin.
The Infinite Whatever, Solo Exhibition, Garter Lane Arts Centre, Waterford August –November, 2017, Cork Printmakers Gallery November 2016, CSN Gallery January 2017.
Impressions Printmaking Biennial, G.M.I.T, Galway, curated by Jason Hicklin (U.K)
Half Tone Print Fair, Library Project, Templebar, Dublin.
Halcyon days, Glor arts Centre, Ennis.
Ballot, First editions print symposium, NUA (Norwich University Gallery), Impact 18, curated by Noonan/Hehir.
Here and Now, First edition Print symposium, Cork Printmakers Gallery, curated by Dr Andrew Folan.
Present, curated by Sarah Kelleher, Connecticut Centre for Contemporary Printmaking, New York.
Hope, Glor Arts Centre, Ennis, Exhibition of National Printmakers, curated by Mike Byrne.
2015:
Printmakers Open Submission, Belltable Arts Centre, Limerick.
Tweet box, Impact 8 Printmaking Symposium, Hangzhou China, curated by Noonan/Hehir The Belltable Arts Centre, Lismore Castle Gallery and City Hall Atrium, Cork.
Here and Now, Macroom Town Hall Gallery, curated by Norah Norton.
2014:
Woven into Memory, an exhibition of textile work, Wexford Arts Centre.
2013:
Aether, Three-person Exhibition, Macroom Town Hall Gallery, essay by Dara Waldron.
21, Cork Printmakers at the Wandesford Quay Gallery, Cork. Art & Style, Brown Thomas, Cork.
2012:
Excavate, Cork printmakers selected exhibiton, Cork City Museum, curated by Breda Lynch.
SELECTED AWARDS:
2023: Arts Council of Ireland Visual Arts Bursary Award.
2022: Arts Council of Ireland Visual Arts Bursary Award.
2022: Cork County Arts Creative Arts Bursary Award.
2019: Ballinglen Arts Foundation Bursary Award.
2018: Shortlisted Zurich Portrait Prize
2017: Cork County Arts office Tyrone Guthrie Bursary
2004: Cork City Council Arts Award
2002: C.I.T Research Bursary
2002: Arts council Travel Award
1997: Cork Printmakers Bursary Award
COMMISSIONS AND COLLECTIONS:
2022: Cork Arts Office and Cork Library Services. Harvest Thanksgiving Archival Collection
2022: National Folklore Collection, UCD, harvest Thanksgiving Archival Collection
2021: Crawford Municipal Gallery, Permanent Collection as part of the National Collection
Dean Hotel, Cork. Dean Hotel, Galway.
2020: Office of Public Works, Permanent Collection
2019: National Gallery of Ireland, Permanent Collection.
2015: Cork Opera Commission for 160th Anniversary
2005: Port of Cork commission for Cork capital of Culture
ACADEMIC POSITIONS:
1997-2017
Course Director for Art year 1 and 2 TRC campus, Cork, Ireland
Visiting Lecturer, Fashion and Printmaking Department, Limerick School of Art and Design.
Visiting Lecturer, Sligo College of Art and Design.
Visiting Lecturer, Crawford College of Art and Design
Visiting Lecturer, Art Department, Galway Mayo institute of Technology
Teacher of specialist screen print workshops at Cork Printmakers
PUBLICATIONS
Source magazine, What to photograph, essay, Neva Elliott, 2025
Divided and Bound, Catalogue Essay, Cristín Leach, 2024
VAN, Critique, Debbie Godsell, Flail, Neva Elliot, , November 2024.
Irish Arts Review, Winter edition, 2024, Harvest Thanksgiving, essay, Stefanie Macbride.
Printmaking today, Chrystal Cheriwan
Visions of an Unsettled Earth 2020, Online Essay, Sarah Kelleher.
Visions of half Light 2018, Catalogue, Essay, Visions of Half-Light, Sarah Kelleher.
Aether, 2013, Catalogue Essay, The liminal Aporium/Into the Aether, Dara Waldron.