Tara Donovan has an affinity for materials that other artists might not give a second glance. In her work, she transforms the stuff of everyday life, such as drinking straws, toothpicks, index cards, disposable cups and the like, into formations that appear like immense representations of geological or cellular growth. Visually compelling as solid fields, it is only upon closer examination that the component parts that make up these objects are revealed to be of the simplest and most common of ingredients.
Context and spatial interactions are the hallmark of much of Donovan’s creative output. Her massive constructions fill rooms, undulate over gallery walls, and generally inhabit spaces with an almost animate presence. In this fourth installation of the Parrish Platform series, Donovan has created works that physically claim territory throughout the Museum— from the lobby to the permanent collection galleries— creating visual surprises.
