JOSEPH MCDONNELL

JOSEPH MCDONNELL Biography

Joseph McDonnell received his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Fine Arts from the University of Notre Dame, working under renowned sculptor Ivan Mestrovic. He 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 commissions for institutions, corporations, and individuals including CBS, IBM, General Electric, Reader’s Digest, Dulles Airport, the Milwaukee Public Museum and the New Jersey State Government. McDonnell has also been an associate editor and sculpture critic for the monthly newspaper Art World, and is a long-term member of The Century Association serving on the Exhibit Committee. In addition, he has been commissioned to design sculptures for awards given to honorees of Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Westchester Open Golf Classic, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, among others. He has been a resident of Seattle for the past fifteen years.

"McDonnell's sculptures compete with the work of some of the best known sculptors of our time. Tough competition, indeed. McDonnell's work in its richly unfolding complexity and strength more than holds its own." -Andre Emmerich

JOSEPH MCDONNELL Description

Joseph McDonnell’s half century of exploration of abstract and figurative sculpture in stone, bronze and steel gave him the solid reputation of a major force in late modern sculpture, and by the eighties, he was recognized for his strongly geometric, yet fluid locking pieces, cube compositions and monumental, multi-faceted gates.

More recently, McDonnell reinvented himself as he began working with a medium that had fascinated him since childhood, when he would melt glass rods over the stove to create quirky animals. His glass ice cubes, and the later interpretation of the subject in resin for outdoor installations, often stacked or aggregated into horizontal groupings, can be seen as a logical evolution for a sculptor who had repeatedly proven he was willing to work hard and take risks.

McDonnell’s monograph published in 2004 by the University of Washington Press gives an excellent overview of the sculptor by art critic and Stony Brook University, NY, Professor Donald Kuspit, who describes McDonnell as being: “clearly a master of what might be called late modern sculpture - cubist/constructivist complexity and an expressionistic sense of drama... They [his sculptures] are about faith in the possibility of perfection in an imperfect and unperfectable world.”

JOSEPH MCDONNELL Resumé

Selected Solo Exhibitions
2013 Abmeyer + Wood Gallery, Seattle, WA
2013 Melissa Morgan Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
2008 Weber Fine Art Gallery, Greenwich, CT
2008 Modern Masters Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
2007 Elaine Baker Gallery, Boca Raton, FL
2006 Modern Masters Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
2005 Weber Fine Arts, Greenwich, CT
2005 Winston Wachter Gallery, Seattle, WA
2002 Foster/White, Seattle, WA
2002 Weber Fine Art Gallery, Scarsdale, NY
2001 Foster/White Gallery, Seattle, WA
1997 Nardin Galleries, New York, NY
1995 Nardin Gallery, Somers, NY
1995 Century Association, NY
1982 Paige Gallery, Dallas, TX
1980 Ellsworth Gallery, Simsbury, CT
1978 Westlake Gallery, White Plains, NY
1970 John Wanamaker Fine Arts Gallery, PA
1964 Flint Art Institute, Flint, MI
1963 Galleria Goldoni, Florence, Italy
1964 McNay Art Institute, San Antonio, TX
1962 Florence Art Gallery, Florence, Italy
1962 Galleria Pater, Milan, Italy
1961 Galleria Goldoni, Florence, Italy
1961 Galleria L’88, Rome, Italy

Selected Group Exhibitions
2012, 2013 a new leaf gallery | sculpturesite, Sonoma, CA
2010 Diane Farris Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2006 Denis Ochi Gallery, Ketchum, ID
2005 Weber Fine Arts, Greenwich, CT
2005 Winston Wachter Gallery, Seattle, WA
2000 Anne Reid Gallery, Sun Valley, ID
1999 Weber Fine Arts, Scarsdale, NY
1994 Maxwell Davidson, New York, NY
1993-1995 Andre Emmerich, New York, NY
1992 National Academy of Design, NY
1989-1990 DeGraff Gallery, Chicago, IL
1988-1990 Images Gallery, Norwalk, CT
1988-1990 Shidoni Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1985, 1986 Kouros Gallery, NY
1984, 1985, 1986 Reece Gallery, NY
1985 Campanile Gallery, Dallas, TX
1984 Sculptors Guild, Lever House, NY
1980 Snite Museum, University of Notre Dame
1980 Gallery at Hasting-on-Hudson, New York, NY
1978 Audobon Artists Annual Show, NY
1976 Katonah Gallery Member Show, NY
1976, 1977 New England Silvermine Exhibitions, New Canaan, CT (awards)
1976 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
1963 Contemporanea, Florence, Italy
Mosta Mercato Nationale d’Arte, Italy
1963 USIS American Artists in Florence, Italy
Houston Galleries, Houston, TX
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

Selected Major Commissions
Houston International Airport, Houston, TX
Seven Bridges Foundation, Greenwich, CT
Bertschi School, Seattle, WA
City of Williamsburg, PA
Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, MI
Parkfield Fire Station, Denver, CO
Life Sciences Building, Seattle, WA
Evergreen Hospital, Kirkland, WA
Washington Mutual Conference Center, Seatac, WA
1700 7th Avenue, Seattle, WA
Inn at the Market, Seattle, 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
Strouse/Greenburg Building, Philadelphia, PA
University of Michigan at Oakland, Oakland, MI
New Children’s Hospital, Detroit, MI
Midland National Bank, Milwaukee, WI
Northland Shopping Center, Southfield, MI
First Federal Savings Building, Detroit, MI
Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, WI

Selected Award Designs
2001 Bill and Melinda Gates Awards for Global Health, Seattle, WA
1989-2001 Jazz at Lincoln Center Awards, NYC
1999 Chicago Tribune Golf Classic, IL
1996 The Nordoff –Robbins Silver Cleft Award, NYC
1995 The Hammond Award, NYC
1985-1995 Westchester Golf Classic Award, NY
1971 Wanamaker Mile Award, NYC

Selected Public and Corporate Collections
Bruce Museum, Stamford, CT
University of Michigan Museum, Dearborn, MI
Snite Museum, Notre Dame, IN
Museum of the Permian Basin, Midland, TX
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA
Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York, NY
Inn at the Market, Seattle, WA
IBM, Armok, NY
General Electric Company, Fairfield, CT
Reader’s Digest, Pleasantville, NY
Consolidated Foods, Chicago, IL
The Taubman Company Inc., Troy, MI
Jacobs, Visconsi, Jacobs Company, Cleveland, OH
Homart Development Company, Chicago, IL
Arthur Rubloff Company, Chicago, IL
John Wanamaker, Philadelphia, PA
Melvin Simon and Associates, Indianapolis, IN
First Federal Savings and Loan, Detroit, MI
Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, WI
Midland National Bank, Milwaukee, WI
First Wisconsin National Bank, Milwaukee, WI
Strouse/Greenberg Company, Philadelphia, PA
General Growth Properties, Des Moines, IA
Chicago Bank of Commerce, Chicago, IL
Standard Oil of Indiana, Chicago, IL
Robert Martin Corporation, White Plains, NY
Trammel Crow Company, Dallas, TX
Durst Organization, New York, NY
Clise Properties, Seattle, WA
Martin Selig, Seattle, WA
Evergreen Hospital, Kirkland, WA
Washington Mutual, Seatac, WA

Awards
1988 Mural Competition, Bethesda, MD
1985 Fountain Competition, Silver Spring, MD
1976, 1977 New England Silvermine Exhibition, New Canaan, CT

Bibliography
2007 Art & Auction, May 2007
2004 Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Dec. 22, 2004
2004 Architectural Digest, Aug. 2004
2004 Seattle Post-Intelligencer, May 10, 2004
2002 New York Times, Oct. 16, 2002
2002 New York Times, Aug. 4, 2002
2001 Vero Beach Home and Design, Jan. 2001
2000 University Week, University of Washington, Oct. 5 and 10, 2000
2000 On Center, Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, WA., Oct.- Nov. 2000
1997 ArtSpeak, December 1997
1997 The Albrightan, Reading, PA. Nov. 12, 1997
1995 New York Times, Sept. 19, 1995
1995 New York Times, June 11, 1995
1994 New York Times, Sept. 4, 1994
1985 Gannet Westchester Rockland Newspaper, June 4, 1985
1978 The State Journal, Lansing, MI. Aug. 22, 1978
1977 Traverse City Record Eagle, MI, Oct. 13, 1977
1977 Reporter Dispatch, White Plains, NY. Aug. 25, 1977
1977 New York Daily News, April 24, 1977
1977 Reporter Dispatch, White Plains, NY. April 22, 1977
1976 National Mall Monitor (cover), April, 1976
1976 The Courier, Champaign-Urbana, Aug, 1976
1976 Shopping Center World (magazine cover), June, 1976
1976 Building Design and Construction (magazine cover), April, 1976
1975 Gloucester County Times, Woodbury, NJ, May 29, 1975
1975 Patent Trader, Mt. Kisco, NY, Jan. 2, 1975
1973 Patent Trader, Mt. Kisco, NY, Nov. 22, 1973
1973 Retail Directions (magazine cover), Sept. 1973
1973 Chicago Daily News, Aug. 8, 1973
1973 South Bend Tribune, July 22, 1973
1973 East Hampton Star, May 31, 1973
1973 Patent Trader, Mt. Kisco, NY, March 8, 1973
1973 Chicago Tribune, Jan. 5, 1973
1971 Madison Newspapers Inc., WI. Oct. 14, 1971
1971 Reporter Dispatch, White Plains, NY. Oct. 13, 1971
1971 The Detroit News, Aug. 17, 1971
1971 Chicago Today, Aug. 13, 1971
1970 Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov. 1, 1970
1970 Evening Bulletin, Philadelphia, Aug. 10, 1970
1969 Patent Trader, Mt. Kisco, NY, Nov. 20, 1969
1969 The Detroit News, May 23, 1969
1966 Milwaukee Journal, Nov. 22, 1966
1964 Milwaukee Journal, Dec. 20, 1964
1964 Milwaukee Journal, Nov. 26, 1964
1964 Dallas Morning News, May 15, 1964
1964 San Antonio Light, Feb. 16, 1964
1964 San Antonio Light, Feb. 5, 1964
1963 The Villager, Greenwich Village, NY, Aug. 1, 1963
1963 Dallas Time Herald, June 26, 1963

Education
1987 Harvard University School of Design
1959-1961 Accademia di Belle Arti, Florence
1959 University of Notre Dame, M.F.A.
1958 University of Notre Dame, B.F.A.
1954-1956 University of Detroit, MI