Michael Doolan was born in 1959, Melbourne, Australia and currently lives in Melbourne and works in Sydney where he is a lecturer at the University of Sydney. He completed a Bachelor of Arts at Chisholm Institute of Technology, Melbourne (1981), and graduated with a Master of Arts (2001) and a PhD (2013) at Monash University, Melbourne.
Michael has held various solo exhibitions throughout Australia, most notably: World within World, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne (2015); Between Wishes and Fears: A Studio Investigation of the Fairy Tale, MADA Gallery, Monash University (2013); Cautionary Tales, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne (2011); Supermaker: Michael Doolan, Craft Victoria at the Atrium Federation Square, Melbourne (2010); Trouble in Toyland, Counihan Gallery, Melbourne (2009); Michael Doolan, Gearbox Gallery, Melbourne Grammar School, Melbourne (2009); for now and for ever, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne (2007); Never EverLand, Academy Gallery, University of Tasmania, Launceston (2005); Boo Who?, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne (2005); Good as Gold, Brisbane City Gallery, Queensland (2003); The Good, The Bad and The Cuddly, Faculty Gallery, Monash University, Melbourne (2000).
He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions, including: Deakin University Contemporary Small Sculpture Award, Deakin University Art Gallery, Melbourne (2015); Narratives of New, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart (2014); Domestic Bliss, Deakin University Art Gallery, Melbourne (2014); House and Home, Margaret Lawrence Gallery, University of Melbourne and the Academy Gallery, University of Tasmania (2014); In Your Dreams, Counihan Gallery, Brunswick (2014); Smash Hits, Shepparton Art Museum, Shepparton (2012); Our House, Sydney College of the Arts, University of Sydney (2011); Your Move Australian Artists Play Chess, McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park and Bendigo Art Gallery (2011); Zen to Kawaii: the Japanese affect, QUT Art Museum, Brisbane (2010); Figuration, Jam Factory Contemporary Craft & Design, Adelaide (2009); the McClelland Sculpture Survey & Award, McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park, Langwarrin, Victoria (2007); Trans Ceramic Art, Third World International Ceramics Biennale, Korea (2005); Strange Cargo: Contemporary Art as a State of Encounter, Newcastle Region Gallery, touring regional galleries (2006/2008); Snap Freeze: Still Life Now, TarraWarra Museum of Art, Victoria (2007); You're so Vain: 5 Contemporary Sculptors, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne (2005); Boogie Jive and Bop, Academy Gallery, University of Tasmania, Launceston (2004); the Gold Coast International Ceramics Award, Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Queensland (2003).
Among his various achievements, Michael has been the recipient of the Victorian Public Sculpture Fund (2014); the Out of Time Grant, Australia Council for the Arts (2005); London Studio Residency, Australia Council for the Arts (2002); the Sidney Myer International Ceramics Award (2002); and in 1995, was awarded a gold medal at the 14th International Biennale, Ceramique d'Art, Vallauris, France.
Michael's work features in many private collections, as well as public collections both locally and abroad such as: Artbank; Bendigo Art Gallery, Besen Family Foundation; Chateau Museum, Vallauris, France; City of Manningham, Deakin University Art Collection; Gold Coast City Gallery; Ipswich Art Gallery; Lady Cilento Childrens’ Hospital; McClelland Gallery + Sculpture Park; Newcastle Art Gallery; Queensland University of Technology; Shepparton Art Gallery and Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart.