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Works by Ohio artist from Philadelphia comprise solo exhibit
Pete Brakman

The word "juxtaposition" occurs frequently in the artistic vocabulary of painter John J. Donnelly. "I'm intrigued by juxtapositions in art," says the Philadelphia-born, Ohio-based artist. "We Westerners see beauty in the full bloom of a cherry blossom. The Eastern aesthetic sees its exquisiteness in its fall from the tree, falling as if it regrets falling. My task is to capture beauty however it's seen."    

In his January-February exhibit at Villanova , gallery goers will have the opportunity to judge for themselves how well Donnelly juxtaposes beauty and ruin, figurative and abstract forms, shapes and marks, colors and space, and historic Christian icons and symbols within contemporary formats. 

Titled "Bella Figura" (Italian: beautiful figure), his multi-media solo show at the Villanova University Art Gallery opened Jan. 9. Supported by the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the exhibit continues to Tuesday, Feb. 18.

Currently chair of the art department at Mount Vernon Nazarene University in Mount Vernon, Ohio, Donnelly attended Philadelphia's Central High School, earned a bachelor of fine arts degree at Temple University's Tyler School of Art, and a master of fine arts at Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind.

Donnelly's work has been widely exhibited in one-person and group shows across Ohio. He has also exhibited in New York, California, Indiana, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Among his numerous honors are several Awards for Painting and Excellence from the Mansfield (Ohio) Art Center and the Columbus (Ohio) Museum of Art, and an artist's fellowship from the Ohio Arts Council. His works are held in numerous corporate, organizational and private collections.

For Donnelly, a summer spent in Rome in 1980 under the Temple University Abroad Program became a turning point in his direction as an artist and launched a love affair with a people, a nation and a culture that continues to this day. His empathy is also borne, he said, of his Philadelphia upbringing as a Roman Catholic.

"Italy's culture, how Italians move through the day, their love relationships and emotions play heavily on my growth as an artist. They are a passionate people -- passionate about their culture, religious beliefs, food, soccer, you name it."

"Theirs is a land rife with juxtapositions. Italians live their lives astride ancient ruins, beautiful remnants in disrepair, while staying connected to today's world. I'm overwhelmed by the beauty of the place."

Many of the paintings in Donnelly's Villanova exhibit were produced during a sabbatical taken in Italy last spring, where monasteries served as his overnight accommodations and people, landscapes and Christian icons and symbols his subject matter. One goal of his mission, he says, "was to present religious symbols from a new perspective; to deconstruct and then reconstruct the idea of Renaissance beauty in the context of disguised symbolism in the 21^st century.

To be able to move freely about the Italian countryside, Donnelly fashioned a portable artist's kit and carried an inventory of smaller painting surfaces. He believes that the smaller-scale works hold an advantage of "evoking a more intimate and meditative approach to the work." In those works, the Italian landscape served as metaphor for the spiritual realm.

In all of his work, Donnelly's objective is to have the viewer decide meaning and perceive beauty. "The overlapping of images through mark making, in both large scale and smaller works, allows symbols to be buried and thus become disguised. Contrasting shapes, such as dots, which are floated on top and behind recognizable imagery, help increase the plurality and mystery of the meaning behind each piece."

While a few of the works are direct observations, the Villanova exhibit is more about building a vocabulary, said Donnelly. "I want viewers who agree and disagree with the meaning of my work to approach it and get something from it."

More information about the exhibit may be obtained by telephoning the Art Gallery at 94612. Exhibited works may also be previewed on the Internet at www.artgallery.villanova.edu.