We are pleased to announce back-to-back exhibitions celebrating the life's work of painter, printmaker and sculptor Donnamaria Bruton. In the first installment, floor to ceiling paintings engulf and enliven the gallery as they transform from the depths of Sepulcher 1991 to the intense bright of Day Words Dream Titles 1992-93. The paintings express her continued interest in the surreal aspects of the visual world in combination with very real and personal objects of domestic life. Bruton's more recent large-scale works are mythic combinations of color, form and texture using materials such as paint, paper, stenciled lace, cotton, and glitter. Talisman-like and spiritual in their demeanor, one can sense a beginning to a story or great adventure in the work.
Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Donnamaria Bruton graduated from Michigan State University (MSU) in 1976, where she earned her BFA in Graphic Design. After graduation, Bruton continued her art career by studying art with her uncle, painter Edward Loper, Sr. in Wilmington, Delaware. During this time, Bruton became aware of the collection of art in the famous Barnes Foundation then located outside of Philadelphia. The collection, founded by Dr. Albert C. Barnes in 1922, holds some of the most seminal works by Matisse, Cézanne, Renoir and Modigliani as well as important examples of African sculpture.
Bruton continued her education and earned an MFA from Yale University in Painting and Printmaking in 1991. Between her MSU education and Yale, Bruton exhibited with pioneering African American gallerist Dell Pryor in Detroit. In 1993, she joined the Painting Department as Professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI. Donnamaria Bruton’s work has been included in numerous one-person and group exhibitions throughout the United States as well as Canada, Japan, France and Korea.
Donnamaria Bruton: Part I, The Early Years will be on view from September 14 - October 27, 2018. Part II, The Later Years will be exhibited from November 3 - December 23, 2018.
