Rhonda Donovan

Lives and works in Tampa, FL, USA

Artist statement

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 provide surprising 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...

Artwork