Gallery One Ellleven
Tony McDonald
"Recent Work" July 5-26, 2008
Gallery One Ellleven is proud to present "Recent Work" by
Tony McDonald.
Tony is one of the founding artists at Gallery One Ellleven and
will be displaying work from two series of work that visually intertwine: "Postcards
from Rome" and "Deconstructions".
"Postcards from Rome" are large scale charcoal and
pastel drawings and watercolors of the landscape in and around Rome. These drawings
are the results of Tony’s trips to Italy and the influence of the architecture and
landscape there.
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"Deconstructions" are recent collage works that involve the process of creating
a palette from color copies of his own watercolors and photographs, cutting and
deconstructing these works and piecing them together to form separate original
pieces. This series, in addition to reflecting on and including snips and cuts
from watercolors of the New Mexico and Italian landscapes, include a kaleidoscope
of images that contain roadside memorials, monumental fountains and the Louisiana
landscape.
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Opening reception: Saturday, July 5, 2008, 6pm
Gallery One Ellleven Press Release
'Recent Work' Poster
Tony McDonald
portfolio
email
...pictures from the exhibition...
...click on small images for larger views...
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photo credits:
Emily McDonald, Angela Broyard
commentary about "Recent Work' from a viewer:
...the image and the space that it occupies in the world that is my focus.
...the basics of line, color, shape and design are really what the work is about.-----
(from Tony's artist statement)
"Yes, it's about the design elements of the work but Tony
stretches that aesthetic beyond just the object itself to include work that approaches
both the traditional and contemporary in interesting ways.
Gesture is important in his work, especially his paintings. The simple gesture
of the movement of a line or the particular placement of a color ...simple things.
When I look at his work I get the feeling that he's always mindful of not
overdoing it - knowing just when it's the right time to stop. His landscapes
especially, feel like a visual distillation of those design elements mentioned in
his artist statement. It feels as if it's important to include what is essential -
nothing more, nothing less.
In that seemingly minimalist approach, it's interesting that he doesn't abandon
the recognizable. The viewer recognizes the subject matter instantly. That's a
very traditional concern - the work is not abstract. There's a tension
that's created between recognizable, naturalistic subject matter and its
minimalist, contemporary expression. That tension creates a unique energy.
That energy is expressed even more directly in the collage work.
Using photographs, deconstructed and rearranged, they are applied to a
geometric grid that both obscures and reveals. The photography is recognizable
while the grids serve as a membrane between the viewer and the oscured subject
matter.
This does at least two things.
It reminds us that there is space between our eyes and the traditional two-
dimensional work of art and that that space is important ...and in some cases, can
be equally important as the subject matter itself. Even though those membranes
obscure the subject matter to some extent, they also reveal another level, a level
that points to sculptural space, a space that is beyond the mere flat surface."
Artists own the copyright to their own work.
Please contact the artist directly to purchase work.
gallery one ellleven
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