Joseph McDonnell - Sculptor
Joseph McDonnell is an American sculptor whose work ranges in size from small to monumental in materials that include bronze, granite, steel and glass. His sense of mass and space produce an inner logic in the forms he creates. He references ancient civilizations with symbolism dealing with the primordial objects of life: sun, water, columns, arches. “My works are personal statements of my faith in man’s profound determination to survive.”
"Joseph McDonnell is clearly a master of what might be called late modern sculpture
cubist/constructivist complexity and an expressionistic sense of drama. Their surface richness suggests a painter’s sensibility—but there is much more to them than their stylistic subtlety. To take a cue from the title of one of his most monumental works, "The Second Gates of Paradise", 2003, they are about faith in the possibility of perfection in an imperfect and unperfectable world. They are about the second coming of paradise after the apocalypse…The paradox of McDonnell’s sculptures is that they seem to be falling apart and coming together simultaneously."
Donald Kuspit
McDonnell received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts from the University of Notre Dame and also studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, Italy, and at the Harvard School of Design. He has produced more than 150 major public and private commissions throughout the United States.
Education
Harvard University School of Design
Accademia di Belle Arti, Florence
BFA and MFA, University of Notre Dame
Awards Received
Venice Art Biennale, 2019
Venice Architecture Biennale, 2018
Visiting Artist, American Academy in Rome, 2017
Mural Competition, Bethesda, MD, 1988 Fountain Competition, Silver Spring, MD, 1985 New England Silvermine Exhibition, New Canaan, CT, 1976 and 1977
HUD Award, 1972
Writings
Critic and Assistant Editor, ARTWORLD, NY, 1984-1995
Collections
University of Michigan Museum, Dearborn, MI
Snite Museum, Notre Dame, IN
Museum of the Permian Basin, Midland, TX
One Person Exhibitions
2014
2013
2013
2008
2008
2007
2007
2007
2006
2005
2005
2002
2002
2001
1997,
1995
1995
1982
1980
1978
1970
1964
1964
1962
1962
1962
1961
Christian Grevstad, Seattle, WA
Abmeyer & Wood, Seattle, WA
Melissa Morgan Fine Art, Palm Desert
Weber Fine Art Gallery, Greenwich, CT
Modern Masters Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
Elaine Baker Gallery, Boca Raton, FL
Melissa Morgan Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
Weber Fine Art, Scarsdale, NY
Elaine Baker Gallery, Boca Raton, FL
Weber Fine Arts, Greenwich, CT
Winston Wachter Gallery, Seattle, WA
Foster/White, Seattle, WA
Weber Fine Art, Scarsdale, NY
Foster/White, Seattle, WA
Nardin Galleries, New York, NY
Century Association, New York, NY
Paige Gallery, Dallas, TX
Ellsworth Gallery, Simsbury, CT
Westlake Gallery, White Plains, NY
John Wanamaker Fine Arts Gallery,
Philadelphia, PA
Flint Art Institute, Flint, MI
McNay Art Institute, San Antonio, TX
Galleria Goldoni, Florence, Italy
Florence Art Gallery, Florence, Italy
Galleria Pater, Milan, Italy
Galleria L'88, Rome, Italy,
Major Collectors
AL Taubman (d), Troy,
MI Judy and Tony Evnin, Greenwich, CT
Bill and Melinda Gates, Seattle, WA
Jack Welch, Fairfield, CT
Sidney Greenberg (d), Philadelphia, PA
Nate Cummings (d), New York, NY
Jon Shirley, Medina, WA
Jerry Chazen, Nyack, NY
Douglas Howe, Seattle, WA
Jerry Dersh, Mohutou, PA
Susan and Jeff Brotman, Medina, WA
Dick and Betty Hedreen, Seattle, WA
Douglas Durst, New York, NY
Trammel Crow (d), Dallas, TX
Richard Mckenzie, Greenwich, CT
Al Clise, Seattle, WA
Ann Pigott Wyckoff, Seattle, WA
Fay and Herman (d) Sarkowsky, Seattle, WA
Kelly Simpson (d), Katonah, NY
Wynton Marsalis, New York, NY
Howard Wright, Seattle, WA
Judy Sheindlin, Greenwich, CT
Selected Exhibitions
2013
Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Pismo Gallery, Denver, CO
2010
2008
Diane Farris Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
St. Charles of New York, New York, NY
2012-
2013
2000
Anne Reid Gallery, Sun Valley, ID
Sited Projects
Clise 2022 Eighth Ave, Seattle, WA
Providence Hospital Headquarters, Kent, WA
Thompson Hotel, Seattle, WA
Shirley Residence, Medina, WA
Sidell Residence, Bellvue, WA
Tom Residence, Medina, WA
Seattle University, Seattle, WA
Houston International Airport, Houston, TX
Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA
Seven Bridges Foundation, Greenwich, CT
City of Williamsburg, PA
Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI
Parkfield Fire Station, Denver, CO
Life Sciences Building, Seattle, WA
Evergreen Hospital, Kirkland, WA
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
1155 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY
Court House Square, White Plains, NY
733 Third Avenue, New York, NY
Station Plaza, Trenton, NJ
General Electric Headquarters, Fairfield, CT
Community Center, Bethesda, MD
Office Center at Montebello, Suffern, NY
IBM, East Fishkill, NY
1050 Washington Blvd., Stamford, CT
Dulles Office Park, Fairfax, VA
9W Office Building, Fort Lee, NJ
Fenwick Street Fountain for Montgomery County,
Silver Spring, MD
Tower 1 Office Building, New Brunswick, NJ
Carnegie Center, Princeton, NJ
Flint Ink, Ann Arbor, MI
IBM, Gaithersberg, MD
Sheraton Meadowlands, Newark, NJ Westchester
Center, Houston, TX
1800 Westloop South, Houston, TX
Abilene State Bank, Abilene, TX
One Country Side Place, San Antonio, TX
Caltex – Las Colinas, Irving, TX
Bryan Tower, Dallas, TX
1212 Corporate Drive, Irving, TX
3 Barker Street, White Plains, NY Tallyrand Building,
Tarrytown, NY
Waterway Tower, Las Colinas, Irving, TX
Plaza Carolina, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Chicago Bank of Commerce, Chicago, IL
Westchester County Courthouse, White Plains, NY
University of Michigan at Oakland, Oakland, MI
New Children’s Hospital, Detroit, MI
First Federal Savings Building, Detroit, MI
Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, WI
1999-
2013
Weber Fine Arts, Scarsdale, NY
1994 - 2000
Maxwell Davidson, New York, NY
Andre Emmerich, New York, NY
1992
1989 - 1990
1988- 1990
1988-1990
1985 -
2013
1984,
1985,
1986
1985
1984
1980
1980
1978
National Academy of Design, NY
DeGraff Gallery, Chicago, IL
Images Gallery, Norwalk, CT
Shidoni Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Kouros Gallery, NY
Reece Gallery, NY
Campanile Gallery, Dallas, TX
Sculptors Guild, Lever House, NY
Snite Museum, University of Notre Dame
Gallery at Hasting-on-Hudson, New York, NY
Audobon Artists Annual Show, NY
1976
1976,
1977
Katonah Gallery Member Show, NY
New England Silvermine Exhibitions
New Canaan, CT (awards)
Yonkers Art Association Member Show NY
Robert Kidd Gallery, Birmingham, MI
Barney Weinger Gallery, New York, NY
Arwin Galleries, Detroit, MI
Gillman Galleries, Chicago, IL
Detroit Artist Market, MI
The Contemporaries Gallery, New York, NY
1976
Contemporanea, Florence, Italy
Mosta Mercato Nationale d’Arte, Italy
1963
USIS American Artists in Florence
Houston Galleries, Houston
Valley House Gallery, Dallas, TX
Florence Art Gallery, Florence, Italy
Galleria D’Arte “Lo Sprone”, Florence, Italy
IX, X, and XII Piazza Donatello Exhibition,
Florence, Italy
Donald Morris Gallery, Birmingham, MI
Galleria Schneider, Rome, Italy
Galleria L ’88, Rome and Spoleto, Italy
Galleria XXII Marzo, Venice, Italy
Little Gallery, Birmingham, MI
1993 - 1995
1963