Josh Ryan McDonald, Nature Revisited, oil and cold wax on canvas, 48 x 73 in, 2023

 

 
 

 i.e. welcomes Josh Ryan McDonald for his inaugural exhibit with us,

TERREBONNE. 
 

Josh McDonald grew up on a family ranch in the high dessert country of Powell Butte in Central Oregon. The show title "Terrebonne" is the name of a small town nearby, which translates to "good earth". His paintings are works in geometric form using oil and cold wax to build surfaces and images inspired by the land where he grew up and the creatures and plants that inhabit it. They have a muted quality of tone and color and the cold wax enhances the earthy feeling of the pigment. The geometry hearkens back to Cubism and Art Deco bringing a classicism to the work along with a nod to the buttes and agricultural buildings  of the region. Additional texture is acquired by the drag of metal combs across the surface, evoking the furrows of fields and ridges. We are excited to introduce his work to you.

Josh Ryan McDonald Statement:

"I attempt to tell a story through my symbolism by creating shapes that depict different aspects that define me. These aspects refer mainly to the structure and landscape of an Oregon family farm. A high desert setting frozen in classic form that balances both nature and manufactured structure fairly equally. Common themes are the animals and the natural elements that surrounded me, the pristine interior of a 1970s ranch house and the colors that accompanied it, as well as the often unforgiving presence of human manifestation.

I combine abstraction and symbolism to create a narrative described through geometric forms, details inspired by early Modern art movements such as cubism. My works are high in contrast and depth, shadow and light, and are often presented with a limited color palette. Instructions inspired by De Stijl and Neoplasticism, both known for following a rigid rhetoric, limiting the use of color and painting in a particular set of angles. I use oil and cold wax medium to build up the surface of my paintings. By dragging a comb through the paint in angular lines I interrupt the initial paint application and break through the hard edge to obtain a softness and a mixture of unique blends and texture. All part of the process of finding a new way to filter the past into something tangible. "