Press · Awards · Exhibitions
Press & Recognition
What has been written about Michael O’Kelly’s work, from the London papers in 1971 to the Ventura County Star. Also here: the awards, the museums, the people who commissioned him, and a short biography for journalists to use.
01 · In the press
What was written
- 2 Jan 2016Ventura County Star · EditorialUnique project to capture Ventura’s first 150 years
The paper backed the city’s 150th-anniversary legacy mural before a tile was made, and became one of its sponsors. It called Michael “the perfect choice for this visionary task.”
The mural → - 24 Aug 2009Ventura County Star · Brenda LoreeArtist’s mural tells history of Ventura
On the Las Palmas mural in the lobby of 60 California Street: two centuries of Ventura’s history, and the research behind it.
Las Palmas → - OnlineNoozhawkSanta Barbara Foundation unveils tile mural depicting life of philanthropist Clifford Sponsel
The unveiling of Giving Back, 160 tiles telling the life of Clifford Sponsel, in the Santa Barbara Foundation’s board room.
- OnlineVentura BreezeStunning ceramic art created in Ventura
A profile of Michael’s ceramic murals and how they are made.
Read it → - OnlineVisit VenturaSan Buenaventura Mission Mural
The city’s visitor guide lists the Ventura Historic Mural as a place to see downtown.
See the listing →
1971 · The Omega Players in London
Before the tile: reviews of the Omega Players
Michael co-founded the Omega Guitar Quartet and its larger ensemble, the Omega Players. The music years →
“The range of effect is sufficiently impressive to suggest how conservative nearly all solo writing for this instrument so far has been.”
“Ten guitars make inventions sonorous… magical sonority that continues to pervade the mind…”
“New horizons for the guitar… There was an enormous amount of rhythmic vitality both from percussion and guitars.”
“A new idea in modern music… great style and precision.”
02 · Awards
Awards and honours
- 2015Mayor’s Arts Award — Artist in the Community
City of Ventura, presented at the Museum of Ventura County.
- 2009Beautify Ventura Award
60 California Street, with the Las Palmas mural cited among the building’s contributions to downtown.
- VenturaVentura Beautiful
For contributions to the downtown streetscape, including the Main Street building facades.
- Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara Beautiful
For architectural ceramic work in Santa Barbara.
03 · Exhibitions & collections
Forty museums and galleries, ten countries
Exhibited
- Santa Barbara Museum of Art
- Carnegie Art Museum, Oxnard
- Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe
- Ojai Museum
- Rubicon Theatre, Ventura: fine art exhibition
- Commonwealth Institute and Horniman Museum, London
- Aberdeen, Manchester, Liverpool and Bristol museums
- Centro Iberoamericano, Madrid: Máscaras Rituales de México
Collections acquired by
- Museum of Mankind (British Museum), London: Mexican dance masks, costumes and instruments
- Brighton Museum
- International Carnival and Mask Museum, Binche, Belgium
Co-produced
- Rufino Tamayo retrospective, 1992: Munch Museum, Oslo; Plastic Arts Museum, Moscow; State Hermitage, St Petersburg — the first solo exhibition at the Hermitage by an artist from the Americas
- Ray Bradbury Theatre Festival, 2007–09
Published
- Illustrations for The First Emperor of China and The Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilizations, London, 1978–80
04 · In their words
From the people who commissioned him
“No one enters the building without commenting on the special and significant nature of Michael’s work.”
“I have followed his career with delight and admiration… Michael has graced our city with spectacular public art.”
“Michael is the real deal… truly an internationally recognized artist.”
“An artist that is reliable, who delivers as a trusted partner.”
“It truly is a work of art and I am so pleased that so many people will enjoy it!”
“The professionalism of it, but also the custom aspect. He works with you to customise the type of thing you might want for yourself.”
05 · For journalists
Writing about Michael?
Use these as they are. For photographs, interviews or a studio visit, contact Michael directly.
Short biography (50 words)
Michael O’Kelly is a Ventura, California artist known for hand-glazed ceramic murals, building facades and fountains, including the Ventura Historic Mural beside the San Buenaventura Mission. Born in Wales in 1950 and trained at the Royal College of Music, he spent a decade in Mexico, worked with Rufino Tamayo, and filmed Ray Bradbury.
Longer biography (150 words)
Michael O’Kelly is a painter, muralist and sculptor based in Ventura, California. A classical guitarist by his teens, he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London and co-founded the Omega Guitar Quartet. He studied painting for nearly eight years with Tom Keating. In 1973 a British Council scholarship took him to Mexico, where he spent a decade researching pre-Columbian music and dance and made collections of dance masks later acquired by the British Museum. He worked with Rufino Tamayo and co-produced Tamayo’s 1992 retrospective at the Hermitage. Since 2000 he has made architectural ceramics for the Disney parks, the City of Los Angeles and many private clients, and in Ventura the fifty-foot Ventura Historic Mural, the Las Palmas mural and a row of Main Street building facades. His bronze Stepping Out stands at Ventura College. He wrote and produced a play and a film about his friend Ray Bradbury, and with Todd Binkley is the author of The Joker’s Hand, a trilogy about Tom Keating.