Sensorium: Drawn Scores

The IAS Community Gallery is excited to present Sensorium: Drawn Scores by Maria O'Toole. This exhibition features a series of small works on paper, highlighting O'Toole's signature style of abstract, emotionally resonant pieces. Her drawing process is deeply intuitive, responding to both her environment and her personal ecological concerns. The creative journey begins with walking, as O'Toole's sensory experience of the world merges with the natural environment she studies, exploring the nuanced space between the perceiver and the perceived.

Maria O'Toole is a visual artist who lives between Te Whanganui-a-Tara and Ruapehu. Her practice is based in abstract drawing. She received a PhD in Fine Arts from Toi Rauwhārangi, Massey University, Wellington. In her doctoral research she experimented with aligning her environmental concerns with her drawing practice. Maria's drawing school kinship evolved from this rigorous study. She runs regular drawing workshops and events in her Eastbourne Bays Studio, the Ruapehu District and in other venues by invitation. 

O'Toole has received multiple awards and residencies in Aotearoa and overseas including; a Merit in the Parkin Drawing Prize (2020) and Finalist in the National Contemporary Art Award (2023). Upcoming in 2025 is the publication of a chapter she was selected to write for Drawing and Placemaking, Bloomsbury UK,