Tara Donovan

I stumbled upon Tara Donovan’s work in the ICA in Boston several years ago and was taken aback by how creative, simple, and stunning it was. She is an artist who is represented by The Pace Gallery in New York. She did her undergraduate studies at Corcoran College of Art and Design and then continued with her MFA at the Virginia Commonwealth University. Her work fashions simple everyday materials into awe inspiring installations. She takes something as simple as a button, a pencil, or tape and used repetition to create biomorphic forms that fill rooms.

My favorite piece by her was done with Styrofoam cups. She glued them all together to create a blanket of cloud like forms that hung from the ceiling below the lights. The lights made the cups glow and appear to be a living organism. The cups cover the entirety of the ceiling, and in some places droop so low that the viewer must duck out of the way. You can smell the Styrofoam. It’s like being transported into another world. If you'd like to see more these images and more can be found Here.

When one walks into her installations a close relationship between the viewer and the artwork is quickly established.One reminisces about looking at land forms from the aerial view of a plane, or being under water looking at beautiful coral.The work is enjoyed by serious artists and public viewers alike.

Her art is successful on many levels. Her biomorphic forms and the tedium behind the process of her art fascinate me. Although the final product is stunning, the process of gluing and taping things a thousand times over is very compelling.The viewer can relate to the process and appreciate the final product.