Starr is thrilled to show the works of John O'Donnell during the months of January and February in person at the library. You can also view his works here past the end date of the in-person show for your enjoyement. Feel free to learn more about John by visiting his website, www.johnodonnellprojects.com . We hope you love the show! Click on any image to enlarge it for clearer viewing. |
JOHN O'DONNELL |
is Associate Professor of Printmaking at the University of Connecticut. He is a printmaker and new media artist. As a printmaker he uses a variety of traditional and experimental techniques to address formal and conceptual topics pertaining to illusion, construction, and the history of intaglio print making. His practice as a new media artist addresses nostalgia and media representation through video, installation and performance. Ultimately, he is a studio artist compelled to create images that locate an ambiguous degree of resolution through applied awareness of content and form. John has created performance and installation pieces for Blue House Arts, Dayton, OH, Glass Box Gallery, Seattle, WA, New Britain Museum of American Art, Museum of New Art in Detroit, MI, Proof Gallery in Boston, MA, FluxSpace in Philadelphia, PA and SOHO20 Gallery in New York, NY. He has exhibited his prints at the Print Center in Philadelphia, the International Print Center in New York and Seoul Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea. His videos have been exhibited at the Chelsea Art Museum in New York and at film festivals in Boston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia. |
ARTIST STATEMENT In January 2020 and August 2021, I visited Italy on two research trips to sketch and photograph different ruins in Rome. I worked from locations and structures depicted by the 18th century Italian printmaker, Giovanni Battista Piranesi. Upon return to the University of Connecticut print shop, I used copper plate intaglio and contemporary print processes to make a series of prints depicting overlooked ruins in the Roman forum. The imagery of this series is inspired by the legacy of Piranesi and the locations he depicted through his etchings. The imagery has been developed by collaging photographs and drawings of the Roman Forum, inspired by green screen special-effects technology and methods of illusion found in art history. These prints merge line work of a traditional etching with localized gradations of neon green ink to define the architectural subjects. The prints are designed using traditional conventions of 18th century printmaking, for example each composition is contained by a series of borders etched into the copper plate. Rather than reproduce specific images, I want to capture the character and tone of Italian prints from the 18th century. |
18th Century Slime Suite Two Etching with surface roll $250 4in x 6in 2021 |
18th Century Slime Suite Etching with surface roll $250 4in x 6in 2021 |
Baths of Caracalla Watercolor $700 12in x 18in 2020 |
Notes on Baths of Caracalla This piece is from a series of watercolor drawings from 2020 and references the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, which is a large sprawling area with enormous ruins. It is a beautiful location with landscaping: green grass, trees and benches. I viewed this location as a very ‘domesticated’ space for ruins to exist, this is reflected by the white picket fences that are incorporated with the ruins. |
Cheese Tower Screenprint $500 22in x 30in 2015 |
Column of Phocas Etching with surface roll $350 3in x 11in 2021 |
Notes on Column of Phocas The Column of Phocas is a monumental column in the Roman Forum. It was the last structure erected in the Forum around 600 AD. It’s isolated, free-standing position among the ruins has made it a landmark in the Forum, and it often appears in famous etchings and engravings. It is an understated and singular object. It does not support a greater structure; it appears to exist to elevate the beautiful ruin of a corinthian capital. It originally held a statue, but I prefer to conclude it erroneously and poetically is a veneration of the capital. It has been a subject included in hundreds of prints, paintings, and photographs over the last 1400 years. During this time, due to flooding and excavation, the ground levels of the Forum have significantly changed and can be measured based on how much of the column is visible. This is an approximate way to determine the time period that different depictions of the Forum were executed. |
Corinthian One Etching $250 4in x 6in 2021 |
Corinthian Four Etching $250 4in x 6in 2021 |
Notes on Corinthian One & Cointhian Four The prints I have produced over the last two years all stem from a research trip to Rome, Italy in January of 2020. Upon returning, I realized the most common recurring theme in my sketchbooks were depictions of corinthian capitals. These two prints are made using a printmaking process called “lift ground.” I use a brush to paint a form using a thin viscous paste on a copper plate and through a series of steps the painted image becomes etched into the plate. The reason that this process is important to mention is, unlike traditional etching and engraving processes, it allows quick loose gestures to be permanently etched into the plate. I have spent a lot of time drawing Corinthian capitals from life, so once I enter the print studio, I can quickly define the shape in three or four brush strokes. This process is my favorite way to depict a corinthian capital, it is an effective way to capture the flowing organic qualities of the acanthus leaves that define the archetypical corinthian form. |
Green Cornice in the Roman Forum Etching and relief $350 4in x 6in 2020 |
Green Sewer in the Roman Forum Etching with surface roll $400 9in x 7in 2020 |
Notes on Green Cornice & Green Sewer In early January 2020, I visited Italy on a research trip to sketch and photograph different ruins in Rome. I worked from locations and structures depicted by the 18th century Italian printmaker Giovanni Battista Piranesi. Upon returning to the University of Connecticut print shop I used copper plate intaglio and contemporary print processes to make a series of prints depicting overlooked ruins in the Roman forum. The imagery of this print series is inspired by the legacy of Piranesi and the locations he depicted through his etchings. The imagery has been developed by collaging photographs and drawings of the Roman Forum. Inspired by green screen special-effects technology and methods of illusion found in art history. These prints merge line work of a traditional etching with localized gradations of neon green ink to define the architectural subjects. The prints are designed using traditional conventions of 18th century printmaking, for example each composition is contained by a series of borders etched into the copper plate. Rather than reproduce specific images, I want to capture the character and tone of these historical prints. |
Rainbow Tower Pen and marker on Bristol board $400 9in x 12in 2018 |
Ruin Tower Etching with relief $400 9in x 7in 2021 |
Vestal Forum Green Screen Etching with relief $400 9in x 7in 2020 |