Antony Donaldson
Works available
Alex
1968 / 2008
Painted Steel
58.6 × 42 × 19.8 cm / 1 ft 11 × 1 ft 4 1/4 ins x 7 7/8 ins
Hollywood
1968 / 2003
Fibreglass
Edition 1 of 3
190.5 × 160 × 144.8 cm / 6 ft 3 × 5 ft 3 × 4 ft 9 ins
Biography
(1939-)
Born in Surrey, Antony Donaldson attended Regent Street Polytechnic before studying at the Slade School of Fine Art from 1958 to 1962, completing his postgraduate studies at London University in 1963. Following his solo exhibition at the Rowan Gallery in 1963, Donaldson was included in the first New Generation exhibition in 1964, which was devoted to painting, and a year later exhibited in the 4th Paris Biennale des Jeunes. He taught at Chelsea School of Art until 1966, when he won a Harkness Foundation Fellowship to live and work in Los Angeles for two years.
Although principally a painter, Donaldson also produced a small number of sculptural works inspired by the Art Deco architecture of the cinemas in Los Angeles. First shown in 1968 at Nicholas Wilder Gallery, Los Angeles, and at Rowan Gallery, London, the spiky form of the fibreglass sculpture Hollywood, is reminiscent of the palm trees which line the city's streets, and the steps at the base recall the grand entrances of the Art Deco theatres. The wall-piece, Alex, was originally created in 1968, but it was later destroyed in an air crash. The artist has remade it as a painted steel maquette, especially for this exhibition.
Donaldson has lived and worked between London and France since the early 90s, and is represented in numerous public collections including the British Museum; Tate; and the Arts Council Collection.