DONNA DODSON: January News

Monday, January 20, 2014

January News

I recently completed an international residency in Cusco Peru at the Escuela Superior Autónoma de Bellas Artes. Living and working in another country was a challenge on many levels. Dealing with a language barrier, different electrical circuits for my power tools, foreign types of wood, and different chemicals and chemistry for products I rely on to finish my work was not easy. But it forced me to try new materials and techniques, and it pushed my work in a different direction, which in the end is what residencies are all about.

Puma Senorita, 36" tall, loro wood and ink, 2014 by Donna Dodson

Nora Valdez is an internationally exhibited artist. She has organized many sculpture symposia. When we said we wanted to go and work in Peru to make new work with the other artists in the show, she had the idea to secure the ateliers at the art school in Cusco for our use, since the students would be on vacation while we were there. In Cusco, we had the honor of meeting the Director, Professor Carlos Larrea Garcia, who welcomed us into residence at his school. We had many adventures together getting wood and tools to use.

Puma Senorita, detail

Side by side with artists from the Boston Sculptors Gallery and artists from Peru, I made new work in preparation for our upcoming group show at the MUSEO Convento de Santo Domingo QORIKANCHA in February 2014 called Visions/Visiones that will be curated by Nora Valdez. In addition to the new work I made in residence, I brought recent work with me to exhibit, Condorita, that I showed in the Nesto Gallery at Milton Academy this fall, for our preview exhibition, Connections/ Conexiónes.

Condorita, 23" tall, walnut 2013 by Donna Dodson

While in Cusco, we were fortunate to meet Mabel Allain, the new curator at the Qorikancha Museum. She has ambitious plans for the permanent collection and exhibition schedule and will bring new energy to the upcoming program of artists they are exhibiting in 2014. We also met the former curator of the Qorikancha Museum, Vera Tyuneleva, who recently completed her PhD in history at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. She is currently a docent and professor at the University San Ignacio de Loyola- Cusco Extension. In addition, we were pleased to meet Manolo Chavez, one of the best professional photographers in Cusco who will be helping us with the images for the forthcoming catalog for Visions/Visiones.

Condorita, detail

The show, Visions/Visiones will open February 1st and remain on view through March 31, 2014. The show will feature artwork by the following artists from the Boston Sculptors Gallery: Caroline Bagenal, Kim Bernard, Murray Dewart, Donna Dodson, Rosalyn Driscoll, Laura Evans, Peter DeCamp Haines, Michelle Lougee, Nancy Winship Milliken, Andy Moerlein, Nancy Selvage, Liz Shepherd, Jessica Straus, Nora Valdez, Hannah Verlin and Joseph Wheelwright. These Boston sculptors will show alongside many notable Peruvian artists such as: Ronald Alvan, Pablo Yactayo, Jacob Sulca, Persi Narvaez, Ivan Tovar, Victor Zuniga, Luis Angulo y Gianfranco Yovera, Carlos Bardales and Xavier Cano.

Update: Weekend, picked up the story, 25 sculptors gather convent of Santo Domingo Qorikancha on January 23, 2014. Lima Gris picked up the story, CUSCO: 25 international sculptors IN QORIKANCHA on January 23, 2014. La Primera Peru picked up the story, Sculptors from the United States and Peru share experiences in Cusco on January 25, 2014. Prensarte picked up the story, Peruvian and American sculptors presented at the Convent of Santo Domingo, Koricancha on February 1, 2014.

Pumita, watercolor and pencil on paper, 9"x12" 2014 by Donna Dodson

In addition to working in wood, and creating new work for Visions/Visiones, I was also busy preparing studies in pencil and watercolor for a show that will run concurrently with our show at Qorikancha. Transcripts/Transcripciones will be curated by Jose Luis Morales Sierra and will feature drawings and works on paper by the following members of the Boston Sculptors Gallery: Caroline Bagenal, Kim Bernard, Murray Dewart, Donna Dodson, Rosalyn Driscoll, Laura Evans, Andy Moerlein, Nancy Selvage, Nora Valdez, Hannah Verlin and Joseph Wheelwright. This show of drawing and visual design will also feature work by the following distinguished Peruvian artists: Jacob Sulca , Ronald Alvan , Ivan Tovar , Luis Angulo, Gianfranco Yovera, Pablo Yactayo, Persi Narvaez, Victor Zuniga, Roger Bellido, Pachacutec Huaman, Marcial Ayala, and Jose Luis Morales. It opens to the public on Jan 31, 2014 at ICPNAC (Instituto Cultural Peruano Norteamericano del Cusco) and runs through Feb 28, 2014.

Condora, colored pencil on rice paper, 9"x12" 2014 by Donna Dodson

Closer to home, I am exhibiting some new wood sculptures in the windows at the Boston Sculptors Gallery from January 20th to April 26th 2014. The gallery is located at 486 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA 02118.

Mama Duck, 18" tall, mulberry wood & paint, 2013

Wistful for the carefree life that she used to have but wilfully wrapped up in her children’s lives as much as her husband’s. She is the epitome of motherhood, and yet, she still finds time to look and feel elegant. If she is trapped, it is by her own standards of perfection that she has embraced.

Prodigal Daughter, 2012, 18" tall mulberry wood & paint

An extraordinary woman- ready to take the blame for stepping out of the flock to discover herself first. For that she is rewarded with all of the family blessings by a family who treasures her as a champion that lives among them with such wisdom in her wings.

Diva, 12" tall, mulberry wood 2013 by Donna Dodson

She can hit the highest notes in her arias and shake the opera house with her mighty voice. She is a Diva in her viking helmet sporting cow horns and two long blond braids, with concentric breast plates of armor.

Save the following dates for my partner Andy Moerlein's upcoming show at the Boston Sculptors Gallery: Demise, Pondering the Unthinkable

February 5 – March 9, 2014
Opening reception: Friday February 7, 5 – 8 p.m.
Artist Talk: Sunday, February 9, noon.
Tea and Cake performance event: March 1, 3 - 5:30 p.m.
Closing Reception: Friday March 7, 5 – 8 p.m.
Gallery hours: Wednesday - Sunday, 12 – 6 p.m.

No comments:

Artist Statement

‘My artwork celebrates the mystical relationship between human beings and the animal kingdom. Because there were no icons of women in the church that I grew up in, my vision is to create them. Through hybrid female-animal forms that I sculpt in wood, I flesh out sensuality, sexuality and soul with a well-proportioned figurative vocabulary. The natural grain of the wood interacts with the form and shape of my sculptures in a descriptive way, suggesting nostrils, and nipples or garments and fabric textures. I often stylize each piece to enhance the girl, woman, princess, queen or goddess within. The mouths, or in some cases beaks, are closed symbolizing the mysteries they embody. These figures are sculpted in sizes ranging from the intimate to the monumental. I use color in both subtle and bold ways to activate each piece. My inspiration comes from ancient iconography and mythological imagery.’

About

Donna Dodson has been carving images out of wood for nearly 20 years. Her sculptures explore feminine beauty and evoke humor and playfulness but also grace, power and emotional strength. Her unique vision responds to the relation of animals to the human spirit that have existed since ancient times. Her figures are almost always female and range in size from the intimate to the monumental.

Dodson’s pre-med studies and her passion for Egyptian art led her to study wood and stone sculpture. African sculptures and Native American totems also influence her work.

She uses logs of osage orange wood from her grandfather’s farm in Illinois, and ash, cherry, locust and maple from New England.

Dodson has worked in a series using an elephant headed goddess to explore female figureheads in positions of power. Recently, Dodson created large scale outdoor pieces, engaging in a public dialogue about her work. The site became a more prevalent theme. Today, Dodson has returned to creating statement pieces such as a cardinal goddess for the women of the Catholic Church who aspire to be ordained and Madam President- a monument to the first female president of the USA.

Bio

Donna Dodson is an American sculptor who has exhibited her artwork around the world. Dodson has completed successful residencies in Verbier Switzerland, Cusco Peru, Keelung Taiwan and Ringkoebing Denmark. Donna is currently a Scholar at the Brandeis University Women’s Studies Research Center and a Fellow at the St Botolph Club in Boston. Dodson’s recent show, “Sheroes” at the Boston Sculptors Gallery was met with critical acclaim. Donna was a 2022 Fulbright US Scholar at Q21/MuseumsQuartier in Vienna Austria working as an artist in residence with her host institution Tricky Women/Tricky Realities, the world’s only animation festival for women. Dodson has won grants from the Puffin Foundation, Massachusetts Cultural Council, the New Hampshire Guild of Woodworkers and the George Sugarman Foundation. Her work is in the permanent collection of the World Chess Hall of Fame in St Louis Missouri, the Provincetown Art Museum, the Art Complex Museum and the Fuller Craft Museum in Massachusetts, The Noyes Art Museum in New Jersey and the Davistown Museum in Maine. Donna's work has been reviewed in the Boston Globe, Sculpture Magazine, The Daily Beast, Hyperallergic and Artnet. She is currently represented by the Abigail Ogilvy Gallery in Boston and Los Angeles. She is a former member of the Boston Sculptors Gallery. Dodson is a graduate of Wellesley College. Donna is a freelance writer whose articles in newspapers, magazines and blogs demonstrate the economic impact and global reach of the Boston arts sector. Her recent paper, “What do we call courageous women” was presented at the Society for Classical Studies annual meeting in 2022 and was published in Queering the Amazons a special issue of the Journal of Lesbian Studies.

Inspirations

"There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in."

-Leonard Cohen

"... I think one's art goes only as far and as deep as [one's] love goes..."

-Andrew Wyeth

"art is valuable because it challenges, inspires, and enables us to see ourselves in much more interesting ways"
-Mickey Cartin

" the thing that I had to do was to ... work super hard in the hope that someday it would pay off. And in using that term I don't mean necessarily money, but just the fact that I would have more depth and dimension both as a human being and as an artist."
-Ed Paschke

“Fashion is what seems beautiful now but looks ugly later; art can be ugly at first but it becomes beautiful later.”
-Steve Jobs

"...remember that collecting art is an act of love. It isn’t about what you pay for a work, or how rich (or not) you become when you one day sell it, but the depth of your enjoyment in the time you live with it."
-Abigail R. Esman

"[Patronage] is a gift, in the form of money, in exchange for [my] gift, in the form of music."

-Amanda Palmer

"Art is the crucial interface between the imagination and reality, the thing that makes life deeper and broader than what it might be without such insight."

-Todd Levin

"If they hadn't told me I was ugly, I would never have searched for my beauty."

-Gabourey Sidibe

"Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be."

-Clementine Paddleford

Great artists “must be shaken by the naked truths that will not be comforted. This divine discontent, this disequilibrium, this state of inner tension is the source of artistic energy.”

-Humphrey Trevelyan

"Life should be lived so vividly and intensely that thoughts of another life or of a longer life are not necessary."

-Marjory Stoneman Douglas

“When people say that poetry is a luxury, I suspect that the people doing the saying have had things pretty easy. A tough life needs a tough language - and that is what poetry is.” Jeannette Winterson

Artistic Process

When I start a piece of work I need to evoke such a strong feeling about each piece that I can dare to listen to the piece, to make mistakes - to just create. It is the emotional investment in the act of creation that crystallizes the work for me.

Sometimes the idea or concept comes first, and I imagine what the piece will be when completed. More often I work from intuition. Once completed I see the intentions behind the piece, or the desire from which it is born. Artists who inspire me include Jessica Stockholder and Katharina Fritsch. Stockholder uses color as a transformational visual device, changing the way we see form. Fritsch creates sculptures of sacred figures that become pop-icons through her use of color. In the same way I work with various kinds and grains of wood accented by color.

My artwork is about self expression, autobiography, and self redemption. Each sculpture is independent and heroic, but each is connected to the body of my total work. Each is made greater and honored by its association with those that have preceded it, but keeps its own sacred identity. Each reflects my realization that I am a self-made woman.

Pages

Monday, January 20, 2014

January News

No comments: