![]() This concept is what makes Tara's work so intriguing and original. It's more of a mimicking of the way of nature, the way things actually grow. It is not like I'm trying to simulate nature. Tara Donovan - An Installation that's a part of the Wonder exhibit - Image via americanart.si.edu A Universe of Its Own Tara Donovan is internationally recognized for her site-specific installations that utilize the properties of their materials and turn it into the driving force of the entire composition ![]() For somebody to go out and try to make something that doesn’t remind you of anybody else’s work and is really innovative - and I think Tara’s work is - that’s very much against the grain of the moment. Perhaps Donovan's colleague Chuck Close explained Tara's fondness of eccentric techniques the best: At this particular moment in the art world, invention and personal vision have been demoted in favor of appropriation, of raiding the cultural icebox. Interestingly, Donovan stated on a couple of occasions that she chooses the material before she decides what can be done with it, which is a very unorthodox approach to making art - but then again, her entire practice was always highly unconventional so the initial method is not such a surprise to anyone who knows this artist's work. These were often a result of a tedious process as her compositions needed to be assembled and disassembled carefully. A true refreshment to her contemporary scene that seemed to be stagnating a bit, Donovan's work used everyday manufactured materials such as scotch tape, styrofoam cups, toothpicks and drinking straws to create large scale sculptures that often had a biomorphic quality. She quickly acquired a reputation of a young star in the world of art. Tara Donovan held her first solo exhibition titled Resonances in 1998, held at Hemphill Fine Arts in Washington, D.C. Tara Donovan - Untitled - Image via Analyzing Her Installation Work This meeting was a breakthrough show for Donovan that led her to more opportunities and shows in and out of NYC. In the year of 2000, Tara participated in the Whitney Biennial and, after that, she lived and worked as a waitress in New York when she finally was contacted by Doug Christmas to show a piece in the Ace Gallery in L.A. From that point on, Donovan began entering regional art shows to display her works until she helped create her own gallery space in an old converted D.C. Although many artists tend to start developing their creative expression early on, Tara did not start to consider herself a sculptor until she started to attend the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington D.C. However, she spent most of her childhood up in Rockland County, in a small town called Blauvelt quite close to New York City where her parents worked. Tara Donovan was born in Flushing, Queens, during the year of 1969, and she the middle child of three siblings. Tara Donovan - Untitled - Image via How Tara Donovan Became a Part of the Art World Although her work tends to favor biological forms rather than a rectilinear grid system, Donovan’s use of singular materials and adherence to rule-based systems has aligned her with the legacies of Minimalist artists such as Sol LeWitt and Eva Hesse. Donovan's installations are often reminiscent of organic or molecular structures, a visual feature that became a sort of trademark to Tara's body of work. She relies on the unique properties of the chosen material, such as the transparency of scotch tape, and turns it into a driving force behind her compositions. Tara Donovan is a widely acclaimed American artist who fabricates site-specific installations using commonly found materials such as styrofoam cups, drinking straws, toothpicks, paper plates and pencils.
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