January 14 - February 7, 2010
Unseen, charcoal on paper, 20" x 20"
Crash Dummies, charcoal on paper, 36" x 84"
Unheard, charcoal on paper, 50" x 30"
Polarized, charcoal on paper, 36" x 84"
Leo Kesting Gallery Presents:
Donna Cleary : The X Spot
January 14 - February 7, 2010
Opening Night Reception: Thursday January 14 from 7:00 - 10:00 pm
812 Washington St (at Gansevoort) NY NY 10014
8th Ave A, C, E and L train Stop or 1,2,3 to 14th St
Tue - Sat from 11:00 am until 7:00 pm Sun & Mon 1 - 6pm
Admission is free to the public
phone: 917-650-3760 / 917-292-8865
http://www.leokesting.com
As digital modern communication lays the foundation for our new relationships, has the unique touch and feel of personal contact grown tired from public space and retreated to the bedrooms of our adult population? With the addition of words like "unfriend" and "sexting" to our vocabulary, is it possible to capture human emotion through digital expression? The unique though now very private human touch in our digital age is explored in Donna Cleary's "The X Spot" an exhibition of cross hatched charcoal drawings.
"The X Spot clearly parlays a direct link between the X generation and the new human interaction that has been birthed with it." states gallery director David Kesting. "In this exhibition Donna Cleary uses a classical approach to figurative illustration to dialog the intimacy promised in online dating testimonials."
The X Spot explores our society as being dependent on social media for the building blocks of relationships, pausing the spectrum of human feelings associated with intimacy. In this collection of charcoal drawings, the personal emotions of love, rejection, ecstasy and even joy are returned to a very public forum.
In this first solo exhibition by artist Donna Cleary, The X Spot embodies the range of emotions that relationships possess. In Crash Dummies, 2009 charcoal on paper, an optimistic joy is found by a couple where the distresses of a relationship are worked out in Polarized, Charcoal on Paper, 2009.
"For me,"
explains the artist, "these images explore modern relationships in
the context of contemporary communication, which plays havoc with the
notion of identity and intimacy. In an increasingly digitalized world,
communication is instantaneous, fragmented, illusory and often anonymous.
It is free of the body language and interpersonal engagement present in
these images. While celebrating the classic techniques of cross-hatching
and sumi ink painting, these images live in the present. United with contemporary
issues and technology, they remind us that despite the frantic pace of
technological discovery, some things transcend time.”
Leo Kesting Gallery invites you to join us in unveiling Donna Cleary's
first solo exhibition with a reception for the artist on Thursday, January
14th from 7:00 until 10:00 pm and then running daily until February 7th.
Leo Kesting Gallery launched in 2003 and developed an aggressive campaign to introduce new figurative artists to collectors and art supporters. Leo Kesting offers the art viewing public an opportunity to see forthcoming talents in an intimate setting where undiscovered, cutting-edge artists are presented to the contemporary art scene.
Leo Kesting Gallery is located at 812 Washington Street at the corner of Gansevoort in Manhattan's Meat Packing District. A, C, E or L train to 8th Ave and 14th Street or 1, 2, 3 train to 14th Street. Gallery hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 11am until 7pm.
About the Artist:
Education:
University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
Art Student's League, New York, NY
Boston College
Prior Group Exhibitions:
December 2009 Fountain Miami, 2505 North Miami Ave, Miami, Fla
December 2009 Headbones Gallery, Toronto, Canada
April 2009 Deleon White Gallery, Toronto, Canada
May 2009 The Guild, Chelsea, NY, Juried show by assistant director, Sarah Hardesty for barebrush.com
March 2009 Fountain NY Art Fair, Leo Kesting Gallery
February 2009 Leo Kesting Gallery, "True Love is Fleeting", Meatpacking District,New York, NY
January 2009 First Street Gallery, Chelsea, NY, Juried show by director D.S. Wade for barebrush.com
December 2008 Fountain Miami with the Leo Kesting Gallery, Miami, Florida
September 2008 Leo Kesting Gallery, "Guaranteed Good", Meatpacking District, New York, NY
December 2008 Serrano Contemporary, Chelsea, NY, Juried show by David Thompson for barebrush.com
November 2008 ACA Galleries, Chelsea, NY, Juried show by director Mikaela Sardo Larmarche for barebrush
June 2008 Christopher Henry Gallery, Nolita, NYC, Juried show by director Bart de Koning Gans
April 2008 Allen Gallery, Chelsea District, New York, NY, Juried show by owner Michel Allen
February 2008 Headbones Gallery, "www.women”, Toronto, Can. with Louis Bourgeois and Judy Chicago.
July 2007 AG Gallery, Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY
June 2007 Magnan Projects, Chelsea, New York, NY, Juried show by director Alberto Magnan
April 2007 ACA Galleries, Chelsea, New York, NY, Juried show, director Mikaela Sardo Lamarche
March 2007 Monkdogz Urban Art, Chelsea, New York, NY, Juried show by director Bob Hogge
January 2007 M.Y. Art Prospects, Chelsea, New York, NY, Juried show by director Miyako Yoshinaga
November 2006 Artists Space, Soho, New York, NY
July 2006 Monkdogz Urban Art, “Xray, Yankee, Zulo”, Chelsea District, New York, NY
June 2006 AG Gallery, Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY
Awards:
2009, Pouch Cove Foundation, Artist Residency, Newfoundland, Canada
Publications:
ARTslantT New York, December 2009
MoreIntelligentLife.com, The Economist, February 2009
Artcomments.com Armory week 2009: Fountain Art Review, February 2009
Irreversible Magazine, March 2009
ArtMoco, February 2009
ArtLog, February 2009
ARTslanT New York, January 2009
News Blaze, January 5, 2009
NY Art Beat, Sept 2008
Eworldwire, December 2008
Eworldwire, "Curators Choice June candidates", June 4, 2008
MMD Newswire, " Art news, May nude calendar announced", May 1, 2008
Torontovisualartists, The Collective, February 2008
Now Magazine: Art Listings, Headbones Gallery, www.women group show, February 2008
Akimbo:Exhibitions and Festivals, www.women, February 2008
MMD Newswire, "Mikaela selected Donna Cleary for the honor of launching the month", April 2007
PRBuzz "Startup website celebrates the art of the nude", press release newswire, April 2007
Mass Media Distribution Newswire, "Art News: World Wide Naked Art Frenzie", February 2007
Mass Media Distribution Newswire, ArtNews, “Startup...celebrates the art of the nude", January 2007
Art Moco, Modern Contemporary Art, Mocoloco.com, "Painting: Donna Cleary", August 23 2006
Art Moco, Modern contemporary Art, Mocoloco.com, "This week at Art Moco", Art Moco, Modern contemporary Art, Mocoloco.com, Aug 25 2006
The New Yorkers, MetroStudios Inc., New York, NY, Live TV interview with Donna Cleary, July 19 2006
World Art Views, Access Art, Artdeadline.com, "Donna Cleary: Deconstructed Portraits", July 2006
Honors:
Curator's Choice, Sarah Hardesty, Assistant Director of The Guild Gallery, Chelsea, NY for Barebrush, May 2009
Curator's Choice, Ann Aptaker, Exhibition Curator, Morris Museum, Morristown, NJ for Barebrush, August 2008
Curator's Choice, Bart de Koning Gans, Christopher Henry Gallery, Nolita, NYC, for Barebrush.com, June 2008
Curator's Choice, Zoran Crnkovic, instructor Salmagundi Club, NYC, for Barebrush.com, March 2008
Lead image, Mikaela Sardo Lamarch, ACA Gallery, Chelsea, NYC, for Barebrush.com, April 2007
Lead image, Miyako Yoshinaga, M. Y. Art Prospects, Chelsea District, NYC, for Barebrush.com, January 2007
Leo
Kesting Gallery
gallery
is located at 812 Washington St New York NY 10014
phone: 917-650-3760
at the corner of Ganesvoort
St
8th Ave 14th st A,C, E and L train Stop