Tara Donovan

Tara Donovan grew up in Nyack, New York. Her studies began at the School of Visual Arts, New York in 1987-88. Donovan received her BFA at the Corcoran College of Art and Design, Washington, D.C. in 1991, and earned her MFA at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in 1999. Before attending VCU, Donovan tended bar and waited tables for six years, and didn't quit her day job until 2003, when her first New York solo show, at the Ace Gallery, probed a breakout success. Donovan's work uses everyday manufactured materials such as Scotch tape, Styrofoam cups, and drinking straws to create large scale sculptures that often have a biomorphic quality. Her sculptures must be assembled carefully and disassembled carefully, which sometimes involve an extremely tedious process. With regards to her artistic process, Donovan explained that she chooses the material before she decides what can be done with it. She noted in an interview that she thinks "in terms of infinity, of [the materials] expanding."

Untitled, 2003
Styrofoam Cups, Hot Glue
Dimensions Variable

Moire, 1999
Adding Machine Paper
2' 8"(H) x 29'(W) x 24' 6 1/2"(D)

Untitled, 2001
Shattered Tempered Glass Held by Friction & Gravity Only
35"(H) x 35"(W) x 35"(D)