Rhonda Donovan

Avanti, Avanti, Avanti

138x99" oil and acrylic paint, thread, canvas, $14,250

drapery fabric assembled painting

Ballerina Princess

60x48” Acrylic paints, resin, thread, drapery fabric, $4980

canvas assemblage painting

Can You Bring Back the Music?

28.25x24.25” acrylic paint, thread, drapery fabric, canvas, $955

wood assemblage map drawing

Caramel Parachute

102x99" oil and acrylic paint, thread, canvas, $12,625

drapery fabric assemblage painting

Corpus Callosum

11x24" graphite, charcoal, green tea, paper, wood, $525

drawing deconstructed and re-assembled

Dancing Laundry

19x14" acrylic paint, graphite, paper, wood, $650

assembled drawing

He Said

60x72” oil and acrylic paint, resin, thread, upholstery fabric, canvas, $5450

assemblage drawing

Hobbled

12.25x9.5x2” oil and acrylic paint, thread, wood, cardboard, $490

assemblage relief

Holy Land

90x54” oil and acrylic paint, bleach, thread, linen, upholstery fabric, $6100

assemblage painting

Hover

16x16” acrylic paint, graphite, paper, wood, $450

assembled drawing

May I Borrow a Cup of Sugar?

25x15” acrylic paint, thread, upholstery fabric, wood, $655

assemblage drawing

Suspended Ascendency

17x11" graphite, charcoal, tea, paper, wood, $450

drawing deconstructed and reassembled

The Protective Layer

112x128” oil and acrylic paint, thread, paper, tarpaulin, $10,900

assembled painting

There’s a Line

6.25x5.5x1.25” acrylic paint, ink, thread, mixed papers, canvas, NFS

assemblage drawing

You're in the Forefront Now

72x60" oil and acrylic paint, thread, fabrics, $5400

sewn assemblage painting

Artist Statement & Bio

We regularly come across stories that make us laugh or cry, but some tie a string around our hearts and pull out memories of our similar experiences. My artworks tell those stories, and how family and other lived conditions frame our response. These shared encounters become woven into our lives and are communicated in my work’s visually tactile experience through material choices, the way they are assembled, and the resulting surface conditions. The memories primarily revolve around my experiences, but also leave a space for viewers to create their own interpretations. Metaphors of pain and joy exist together, reminding us to hold onto hope and search for the possibility of repair.

Additive and subtractive marks trace gestures of movement, symbols of strength, and contradictions of the tenuous to reference specific occurrences which have yielded different results. Visceral moments of life are located within the thick, pudding-like paint applied randomly between faint washes of pigment. When papers and wood are attached together, strain is implied by a tenuous quality of articulation points. When fabric is the support, tension forms between tightly sewn and outstretched corners.

Many materials are rescued items or remnants from earlier works. The repurposed elements force me to resolve, and often provoke other unexpected results. In this way, each artwork asserts itself, as much as it is guided by my hand, mimicking the pulse of a society in constant flux. Allowing this exchange of choices between myself and the work, forces an indefinite state of progress which leaves the final results unknown, mirroring the unexpected outcomes in life.

I maintain an active studio practice receiving recognition with exhibitions, curation, and awards in various U.S. and European cities, including two exhibitions in Venice, Italy. One of those was held in a satellite location during the Venice Biennale of Architecture in summer 2021. I have been invited to present at the SECAC Conference 2020, 2021, 2022, and had work in the SECAC Juried Exhibition 2021, residencies in Venice, Italy and at the Hambidge Center helped me find new studio practices, and I have been in several print and online publications, including Studio Visit Magazine Vol 49, Manifest INPA 10, and Friend of the Artist Studio Image Project.