Johannah O ’ Donnell
by Jenn Allen
At the end of 2016 , I sat down with Johannah O ’ Donnell to refl ect on the year of the “ dumpster fi re ” and how now , more than ever , it is important for us as artists to use our mediums to stand by our beliefs . “ Where , as artists , do we go in this kind of situation ? Do we go really dark , or do we try and do something more upbeat ? What is our part in this ?” O ’ Donnell told me that she was making art when George W . Bush was in the White House , but this President Elect feels different to her . She describes it as a step backwards . The once-progressive United States is at risk of undoing steps towards equal rights for anyone who is not an upper-class , white male . As artists , considering our voice within the context of our times is what makes art important within a more specifi c , political context .
O ’ Donnell has recently been displaying her frustrations through her work . “ I did a lot of work this year with bared teeth and angry animals ,” she explains . In December , she had work at Redefi ne Gallery ’ s booth at X Contemporary , during Art Basel Miami
Beach , which she titled Reality Bites . Another recent piece that she has made is the triptych Elegy to the Soviet Union . These three works are painted on wood and elaborately framed to mimic the strong , architectural style of Soviet Russia . The title came from the abstract expressionist series called Elegy to the Spanish Republic . O ’ Donnell ’ s elegy , or funeral song , was intended to be a jab at Russia , but instead , it might have backfi red on her . As a country , we are in a limbo of sorts . Our international relations will more likely than not dramatically change , and the relationship between the President Elect and Russia ’ s President Putin may become a dangerous one . Each of the three paintings feature two wolf heads joined at the neck over classic Soviet Union architectural forms . “ I always enjoyed those monuments because they ’ re abandoned , and I thought it was a really interesting metaphor for that country . I wanted to add an environmental discussion about post-Soviet Union Russia .” Gray wolves are specifi cally used because , after the explosion at the nuclear power plant in Chernobyl , the vast
Reality Bites , acrylic on wood
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