John Donovan explores new ways to exhibit ceramics
Release Date: 4/23/2008. Expired: 6/7/2008
Ceramic work exhibitions at The Renaissance Center are normally reserved for display cases or pedestals. Its 3D nature often relegates it to such spaces.
But there always have been artists who have challenged this standard presentation. They have explored multiple ways of construction, installation and new methods of arranging their work. In contemporary ceramics there are artists who have successfully made the transition from the tabletop to the wall surface.
One of those artists is Nashville-based John Donovan whose works will be on display in the East Wing Gallery at The Renaissance Center May 1-June 7. An opening reception will be 6-7:30 p.m. Friday, May 2.
“Fortunately in the southeast, an area so rich with exploration into the crafts, there are artists who are moving in new directions with materials such as ceramics,” said Armon Means, curator at The Renaissance Center. “John is one of those artists who uses the material in almost every way possible.”
An instructor at Middle Tennessee State University, Donovan uses his knowledge of traditional ceramics and clay working to bring a new approach to the medium. His oftentimes-playful objects utilize the technical precision of a master of his craft, yet his subjects question traditional concepts.
Frequently, issues such as current events or politics are addressed through the lighter side of the objects presented. Whether manifested as a bunny saddled with hand grenades or an armor-plated house – Donovan takes the casual and makes it serious while also using texture, form and design as key elements in the work.
“The idea of humor and child-like visuals offer an entrance for the viewer, while the more serious content often comes next,” said Means. “It is rare that such a method can be used without one or the other (content or form) seeming secondhand, or less valued. John is able to do this successfully – allowing each element and idea in the pieces to come together equally to form something unique. This exhibition also will contain work made specifically for the space of The Renaissance Center and the delight of the viewers.”
Donovan is an artist and teacher living in Nashville with his wife, Lisa, and two children, Joseph and Maggie. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Loyola University and his Master of Arts and Master of Fine Arts degrees from Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas. After graduate school Donovan taught in the art department of The University of West Florida for five years. He also was featured as a visiting faculty member at the University of Costa Rica in San Jose.
Clay has remained the medium of choice for most of his career, although he has explored other media and methods of art-making. Donovan’s work explores contradictions he finds in life and his surroundings, often using childhood toys as metaphors for adult concerns. There is a sense of playfulness in his work, which belies the underlying grim notions being explored.
His art has been exhibited nationally and internationally in juried and invitational shows, and is represented by LeMieux Galleries in New Orleans and Zeitgeist Art Gallery in Nashville. His work was included in the 3rd World Ceramic Biennale 2005 international competition in Icheon, South Korea.
For more information on the exhibit of John Donovan’s ceramic works at The Renaissance Center May 1-June 7, contact Means at (615) 740-5545 or armon.means@rcenter.org.
Galleries at The Renaissance Center are open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and admission is free.
The Renaissance Center is a fine arts education and performing arts center at 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson, just 35 miles west of Nashville on Interstate 40 at exit 172. For more information, call (615) 740-5600 or visit www.rcenter.org.
Visit the Visual Arts Gallery page for more about the gallery.