- Maria McDonald graduated in December from Kent State with a bachelor’s degree in fine art.
- McDonald will host her first solo studio show at the Massillon Museum’s Studio M.
- Her work, which includes oversize oil paintings of women, can be viewed from today through March 17.
MASSILLON ‒ A recent Kent State University graduate will have her first solo art show at the Massillon Museum‘s Studio M.
“This means so much to me,” Maria McDonald said. “It just shows me I can actually be a painter.”
The 24-year-old’s show, “In Another Life: A Take of Love, Loss and Living,” features large-scale oil paintings depicting women and their experiences in society. The show opens today and runs through March 17.
An artist’s reception will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Feb. 4 at the museum, 121 Lincoln Way E. McDonald will also participate in a podcast with museum staff at noon March 5. Admission to the museum is free.
With her graduation from Kent State with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in painting just a few weeks ago, McDonald is thrilled to be able to show off the artwork that she has worked on for the past year and a half.
The large-scale paintings — many over five feet tall — feature bright colors and in some show women in an environment that is another life.
“It’s more of a fantasy-type place where they are free to be themselves,” said McDonald, a 2017 Jackson High School grad. “Others are self-portraits showing the experience I had being a woman in society and what it feels like to exist.”
The paintings depict themes of feminism, heartache and loss of loved ones. The fantasy paintings are personifications of emotions and how McDonald feels inside, she said.
Emily Vigil, the museum’s Studio M and Fred F. Silk Community Gallery coordinator, believes McDonald’s artwork fits with the mission of Studio M.
McDonald’s artwork gives audiences a different perspective with her use of large-scale paintings, intense colors and the women’s mesmerizing and exaggerated eyes.
Using vivid colors, McDonald depicts women in environments where they are free to be themselves.
“It’s shows women in another life,” Vigil said. “It’s imagining the figures being free from the constraints society places on women. It’s a more fantastical space painted with unrealistic colors for hair and bodies.”
Her self-portraits face the viewer, Vigil explained, adding they care who is watching.
Studio M showcases a variety of contemporary art. Artists featured in Studio M apply to show their artwork in the space. Professional artists as well as students can apply.
Museum Executive Director Alex Nicholis Coon said allowing students or recent graduates to exhibit their work provides them with the exposure to complete their education, as well gives them professional experience and fresh exposure to their concepts that otherwise are seen only in an academic setting.
The museum encourages partnerships with local art schools, including Kent State, Cleveland State, Cleveland Institute of Art and University of Akron.
McDonald has a unique aesthetic, Nicholis Coon said, adding it’s important that the museum celebrates different voices.
“(Her artwork) has a really interesting message of female empowerment and also the concept of perceived identity and that is really cool,” she said.
McDonald has turned her spare bedroom of her Massillon home into a painting studio as she begins to paint a new body of work.
“This show means so much to me,” she said. “I’m hoping to get more of my work in galleries around Ohio. I hope to use this solo show as a steppingstone to show more of my work and become a full-time artist. It’s so cool. I am happy people can come to see my work.”
While working on reaching her goals, McDonald is a nail tech. She uses nails as a canvas to share her art.
“Maria is an emerging artist that is doing very bold work,” Vigil added. “It’s really exciting to see her show in Studio M. It’s a good fit there. We like to show not only established artists but also people that are just emerging into the field.”
Student photography, art featured
In addition to McDonald’s artwork, The Massillon Museum’s Fred F. Silk Community Room Gallery will host the exhibition, “The Art and History of the Black Family: Through the Eyes of the 21st-Century African American Child,“ from Feb. 4 through March 17.
The show is comprised of digital photography from middle school students from Stark, Summit, Portage, and Medina counties, through the Illuminate Digitial Photograph project, sponsored by the Kent Area Chapter of the Links Inc. through a partnership with the Massillon Museum.
Visitors will see images that capture the culture of African American family life and traditions such as in the kitchen and at church.
“Celebration in Art,” a collection of artwork from students across Stark County will open in the main gallery.
Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com.
