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Artscope Magazine | May/June 2021

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Donna Dodson

Donna Dodson at Queen Califia Magical Circle Garden in Escondido, California.

MAKING CONNECTIONS WHILE ON AN ART-THEMED VACATION

// Current Issue, Issue Articles, March/April 2019

by Andy Moerlein

VACATION TRAVEL FOR ARTISTS: WORK OR PLEASURE? Every vacation I take with my wife (and fellow Myth Maker), Donna Dodson, begins with goals: take a break together, hike landscapes, experience climates unfamiliar and see art that inspires. We prioritize exercise, abhor crowds and limit driving to four hours a day. After a year of working in our studios preparing solo shows and completing four monumental public art projects, the idea of unfamiliar art museums and walking blocks of art galleries together seemed a delightful rest. Donna had Niki de Saint Phalle’s “Queen Califia’s Magical Circle” in Escondido, California in mind. My ambition was an off-season hike into the Grand Canyon. Phoenix proved a great arts-destination airport for our adventures. We experienced a fortuitous beginning — public art greeted us at the car-rental building: Ten of Jun Kaneko’s life-size, ceramic … [Read more...] about MAKING CONNECTIONS WHILE ON AN ART-THEMED VACATION

Jasery Doumbouya and Darrius Allen as Fatoumata Sall and Ndiadiane Ndiaye.

Making Connections With Donna Dodson

// Issue Articles, November/December 2018

by Donna Dodson

I first came across Stephen Hamilton’s work at the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists in Roxbury, Massachusetts in the 2017 show, “Black Gods Live: Work of Stephen Hamilton.” I was struck by the vibrant representations of African men and women, the handcrafted tapestries and the narratives in his work. I took to following him on social media to keep up with his practice and recently did a studio visit with him to find out more about his new work. “The Founders Project” will be on view at the Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building in Dudley Square in November, courtesy of Now and There. One can trace the development of this series in his recent work. “Portraits of the Orisa: Nigeria Series, 2016” re-imagined artists and members of the Yoruba religious community as the Orisa and other figures central to the Yoruba spiritual and philosophical tradition. The series … [Read more...] about Making Connections With Donna Dodson

MAKING CONNECTIONS: WITH DONNA DODSON

// Current Issue, Issue Articles, January/February 2018, Visual Arts

by Donna Dodson According to the Biennial Foundation, Prospect New Orleans is one of only 20 biennials/triennials in the United States out of approximately 200 internationally. The current edition, Prospect.4, is curated by Trevor Schoonmaker, who is also the curator of contemporary art at Duke University’s Nasher Museum of Art. Looking at New Orleans as a nexus of cultures, P.4 features over 70 artists from Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America and the United States. At the grand opening, Schoonmaker said, “New Orleans is like no other city in the world, and is completely unique as an American city. It is the most European and the most African city in the United States. It is frequently called the northernmost Caribbean city and is still distinctly of, and in, the American South. Its rich history and culture provide bound-less inspiration for artists from all over … [Read more...] about MAKING CONNECTIONS: WITH DONNA DODSON

DONNA DODSON’S MAKING CONNECTIONS … IN TAIWAN

// Featured, News, Visual Arts

by Donna Dodson

(In our September/October 2017 issue, Donna Dodson wrote of her experience at the Ringkobing International Woodcarving Symposium in Denmark. In this follow-up report, along with husband Andy Moerlein (collectively known as The Myth Makers), she travels to Taiwan for the International Marine Environmental Art where they create an outside sculpture as Artists in Residence at the Keelung National Museum of Marine Science and Technology). KEELUNG CITY, TAIWAN -- August, The Myth Makers were invited to be the Artists in Residence at the Keelung National Museum of Marine Science & Technology in Taiwan. Organized by Jane Ingram Allen, this International Marine Environmental Art Project invites artists from the USA, Europe and Taiwan to complete monumental public works that connect art and science. We worked with three groups of volunteers to complete our project on site. We also … [Read more...] about DONNA DODSON’S MAKING CONNECTIONS … IN TAIWAN

Donna Dodson: The Chinese Zodiac Series & William Kendall paintings at Colo Colo Gallery

// Exhibits

By John Paul Stapleton   New Bedford, MA – Donna Dodson’s contemporary and characterizing interpretation of the Chinese Zodiac is currently on view at Colo Colo Gallery.   “The Chinese Zodiac Series” was installed in collaboration between Dodson and Colo Colo owner and curator Luis Villanueva. While this is her solo exhibition, Villanueva has also installed a series of abstracts by William Kendall that coexist with her sculptures.   “My work has a level of abstraction,” Dodson said. “So I like being paired with an abstract painter.”   Upon entering the space, one will find that all 12 of her Zodiac sculptures are arranged in a circle facing inwards on tall white bases, bringing them to an easily observable level. On the walls behind all of the sculptures are Kendall’s abstract paintings that compliment the wooden sculptures with their earthy color palette.   Dodson said … [Read more...] about Donna Dodson: The Chinese Zodiac Series & William Kendall paintings at Colo Colo Gallery