Nicole Donnely
Nicole Donnelly is a Philadelphia-based painter, hand papermaker, installation artist, curator, and shadow puppet enthusiast. She received her MFA from the University of Iowa in 2009 and her BA from Bennington College. She recently received grants and fellowships to complete residencies at the Vermont Studio Center (2011) and the Women’s Studio Workshop (2010), and was invited in 2013 to exhibit at the University of Nevada Reno for a two person show, “Two by Land”. She enjoys collaborating with artists outside of her medium, notably poet Frank Sherlock, a PEW recipient and Poet Laureate of Philadelphia, for the project “Very Different Animals” (2013). Donnelly’s artwork has been exhibited throughout the United States, and in Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Germany, and the UK.
Artist Statement
Ecology and environmental issues are central to my art making process. As a hand papermaker and visual artist, I sustainably produce many of my own raw materials, in addition to creating imagery that reflects the often neglected responsibility we carry to conserve the natural world.
Working through a range of media, my practice consists of paintings, semi-sculptural paper works, and site-specific installations, utilizing direct mark-making and printmaking processes. I strive for simplicity in these works to create a visual opening that any individual can encounter and appreciate for the sake of color, or form, or imagery, but one which also brings with it a sense of gravity and responsiveness. I am in search of that intimate and personal moment at the juncture of phenomena, perception, and realization.