Tara Donovan, American, Untitled (Plastic Cups) (detail), 2006; plastic cups; dimensions variable
Courtesy PaceWildenstein
Tara Donovan creates sculptural installations based on the physical properties and structural capabilities of a single, accumulated material. To build these installations, she uses systems that mimic the organization of biological structures.
Donovan chooses materials identified with a prosaic, everyday purpose. In past installations she has employed electrical cable, adding machine paper, roofing felt, straight pins, paper plates, and toothpicks. She calculates the physical properties of each material, including its texture, density, mass, and size, which will eventually give rise to a single structure when accumulated. Once established, this unit serves as the essential architectural building block that is then reproduced according to given spatial conditions.
When deciding how to unify the population, Donovan gives particular attention to patterning, configuration, and light absorption/reflection. However, the final form evolves organically from the material itself via its innate properties and structure. Installed specifically for each exhibition space, these forms function as fields of visual activity that reveal distinctive characteristics with each shifting viewpoint.
Tara Donovan (American, born 1969) studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York, before earning a B.F.A from the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington, D.C. and an M.F.A in sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Donovan has been the subject of numerous gallery and museum exhibitions nationwide, including the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego (2004), UCLA Hammer Museum (2004), Museum of Contemporary Art, Cleveland (2003-04), and Hemicycle Gallery, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (1999-2000). Donovan also participated in the 2000 Biennial exhibition at the Whitney Museum of Art, New York. Donovan was the 2005 recipient of the Alexander Calder Foundation's first annual Calder Prize.
Currents 98: Tara Donovan is curated by Robin Clark, associate curator of contemporary art, and is on view in galleries 339 and 337 from September 15 through November 26, 2006. Donovan discusses her work on Thursday, September 14 at 7:00 pm in the Auditorium. The artist's talk will be followed by a preview of the exhibition.