Untitled (Primary Title)
Gerald Donato, American, 1941 - 2010 (Artist)
Donato is not a theoretical painter—he stays open to new input and tuned in to his own psyche—he remains fluid. –Richard Roth (fellow artist and VCU professor)
Donato—who taught painting and printmaking at Virginia Commonwealth University for nearly forty years—was often ahead of his time, and this untitled work from 1987 presages the emphasis on hybridity and impurity in the 1990s. Donato’s ‘90s style included a collage and appropriation aesthetic and exploration of diverse paint applications, such as brushing, printing, sponging, and rolling.
The head adorning the graceful female form who hovers before Mount Rushmore represents Moon Face—one of Donato’s signature images who connotes innocence, goodness, and female energy. Above her floats Donato’s other icon, his alter ego Mr. Man, a worldly prankster derived from the cartoon character Mickey Mouse in his debut appearance as Steamboat Willey.
The Art of Richmond, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC, December 10, 1988 – January 22, 1989
Un/Common Ground: Virginia Artists 1988, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, January 13 – March 6, 1988
[1] Accession record located in object file.
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