What’s happening
Murmurings exhibition in Denver, Colorado
Janice McDonald’s next exhibition, “Murmurings,” will be on view February 1-25, 2024 in the North Gallery space at Spark Gallery in Denver, Colorado.
This series of new works is an exploration in fragmentary storytelling: pieced-together bits of found poetry and text give voice to abstract collage elements, as word and image mingle.
You’re invited to join Janice at the gallery for these special events…
First Friday festivities: February 2, 6-9pm
Opening reception: Saturday, February 10, 12-5pm
Sundays on Santa Fe / Last look: February 25, 11-4pm
Please contact Janice directly for other times when she will be at the gallery.
Spark Gallery, Denver’s original contemporary artists’ cooperative, is located in the Art District on Santa Fe at 900 Santa Fe Drive. Gallery hours are Thursday 12-5 pm, Friday 12-9 pm, Saturday 12-5 pm, Sunday 1-4 pm.
Exhibitions by Susan Rubin and Sue Simon will also be on view.
Collage diary featured in article about artists’ daily practices
Janice’s daily collage diary practice was featured in an article written by Laura Freeman, art critic, in the Times of London (published January 6, 2024). The article is about creating something every day — and exploring the idea of committing to some sort of creative endeavor as a new year’s resolution.
Ms. Freeman wrote of Janice’s work, “You might think that the compositions would become stuck and samey, but what delights me as a follower is that each acrobatic abstract seems to cartwheel on to the page with complete freedom and spontaneity. McDonald tells me that the ‘creative momentum’ has carried over into other projects.”
Read the article in its entirety here.
Unconnected Yet exhibition travels to Australia
Janice’s collage, “What When,” continues to travel the world... The exhibition, “Unconnected Yet,” which debuted in Kolkata, India earlier this year, is now on view in Australia at Lorne Community Connect in Victoria through January 7, 2024.
“Unconnected Yet is about the junction between things—creativity that explores a combination of art and science or cross-curricular inquiry. It explores art that points to the gap: things to be connected, something to be spanned, a subject to better understand, an unexperienced phenomenon, an unnamed or unseen thing, something that has not yet occurred, or something unexplainable.” More info here.
Traditions catalog
In 2021, Janice participated in a call for collages using plastic coffee cup lids as the support/frame for miniature artworks — an effort to highlight both art and recycling. It was intriguing for her to work small and in a round format.
Since then, the lids have been the subject of an exhibition and are now documented in a new catalog, “Traditions,” a publication from Laurie Kanyer of the Kanyer Art Collection.
Janice is happy and honored that one of her collages is featured. The catalog is available printed via Amazon or as an ebook. More information about the project is here.
NINE exhibition
Janice’s work will be included in “NINE," on view September 15 - October 15, 2023 at 931 Gallery in Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe. Nine Denver-area contemporary artists will show intriguing new works — in the mediums of drawing, painting, mixed media, collage, printmaking, assemblage, and sculpture.
The other eight artists featured in the exhibition are: Bill Ballas, Phil Bender, Leo Franco, Andy Libertone, Tom Linker, Katharine McGuinness, Phillip Potter, and Ron Zito.
You’re invited to visit the gallery for these special events…
Artist’s opening reception: Friday, September 15, 5-9pm
Sunday on Santa Fe: September 24, 11am-3pm
First Friday Art Walk: October 6, 5-9pm
Please contact Janice directly if you’d like to arrange a visit during times when she will be at the gallery.
Regular gallery hours are Friday, Saturday and Sunday 12-4pm. The gallery is located at 931 Santa Fe Drive, Suite 150, Denver, Colorado.
KolajFest 2023 involvement
Kolaj Fest is a multi-day festival and symposium about contemporary collage and its role in art, culture, and society, taking place June 7-11, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Janice will speak about her collage diary at a session titled “Comme d’habitude: Ways of Making, Ways of Being.” She will also share some of the works she produced during a Poetry and Collage Residency residency.
Janice is honored to have also been invited to participate in a panel discussion about Cut Me Up magazine, to celebrate the 5th anniversary of this unique publication. Cut Me Up features work by artists who are challenged to reuse portions of imagery taken from previous issues of the magazine, combined with their own materials, to respond to a specific call/theme. Each issue is juried — Janice’s collages have now been included in several issues.
Gesture and Flow exhibition
“Controlled Chaos,” collage with ink on paper, 14 x 11”, 2022.
Janice’s next exhibition, “Gesture and Flow,” will be on view May 25 through June 18, 2023 at Spark Gallery in Denver, Colorado.
Janice’s collage compositions offer moments of tenuous balance, along with sinuous movement, created from torn paper shapes and the powerful connections between them. A focus on the importance of gesture and flow in her work has pushed recent collages into new areas — incorporating more lyrical forms, calligraphic mark-making, and the occasional use of found words/phrases.
You’re invited to join Janice at the gallery for these special events…
Opening reception: Friday, May 26, 6-9pm
Sundays on Santa Fe: Sunday, May 28, 11-4pm
First Friday festivities: June 2, 5-9pm
Closing reception: Sunday, June 18, 1-4pm
Please contact Janice directly for other times when she will be at the gallery.
Spark Gallery, Denver’s original contemporary artists’ cooperative, is located in the Art District on Santa Fe at 900 Santa Fe Drive. Gallery hours are Thursday 12-5 pm, Friday 12-9 pm, Saturday 12-5 pm, Sunday 1-4 pm. Exhibitions by Keith Howard and John Decker will also be on view.
Kanyer Art Collection exhibition
Janice is honored to be included, among many other amazing collage artists, in an upcoming exhibit of pieces from the Doug and Laurie Kanyer Art Collection. The exhibition, “A 45 Year Love Affair with Art: The Doug + Laurie Kanyer Art Collection,” was curated by Rosie Saldana and is presented by Tieton Arts & Humanities.
The Kanyers have been art collectors since 1978, beginning when they were college students. On view will be works from the Central Washington arm of The Collection alongside works from the international collage arm of The Collection.
The exhibition will be on view April 29 - May 13, 2023 at Tieton Arts, Mighty Tieton Warehouse, 608 Wisconsin Avenue, Tieton, Washington. Gallery hours: Friday and Saturday, 12-5pm and by appointment.
Denver Collage Club exhibition
Two of Janice’s collages will be included in the Denver Collage Club show at Alto Gallery, on view from March 3 to April 1, as part of Denver's Month of Photography celebrations.
"There is always a happy feeling in the room when the Denver Collage Club shows its stuff to the public. The club is a loose affiliation of artists… who come together over their love of putting this thing with that thing and seeing what happens in the end. It's all experimental, and it feels that way. Sometimes the works are elegant and formal; other times they are little more than scraps of paper… It's relaxed and artful and super casual and just the right kind of event that community-minded Alto Gallery does best." — Ray Mark Rinaldi, The Denver Post
Alto Gallery is located in a space adjacent to the Bob Ragland branch library at the RiNo Art Park, 1900 35th Street, Denver, Colorado. Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday from 11am to 3pm.
"Periscope," collage on wood panel, 10 x 10", ©2023, Janice McDonald.
Collé feature
Janice was featured in the new and amazing Collé newsletter in January 2023… it’s a great art-filled resource and an exploration into the world of contemporary collage that introduces an artist in each issue.
If you’re interested in collage and the artists who make them, click here to subscribe and receive issues every weekday (free).
"Janice McDonald is a visionary collage artist who has the ability to find beauty in minutia. She crafts visual puzzles from fragments of paper and photographs, turning them into intricate and powerful compositions. Her unique pieces are rich with detail and depth, inviting viewers to take a moment to appreciate the complexity beneath the surface."
Screen captures of the entire issue, including more of Janice’s art, are available on the blog.
The collage shown here is “Wild Things,” collage on wood panel (10 x 10 x 1”) from the ThroughLines series.
Artwork selected for exhibition in India
One of Janice’s collages, “What When” (shown here), was selected for inclusion in Unconnected Yet, an international art exhibition in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India on view in January 2023. The exhibition is about the junction between things—creativity that explores a combination of art and science or crosscurricular inquiry. It explores art that points to the gap: things to be connected, something to be spanned, a subject to better understand, an unexperienced phenomenon, an unnamed or unseen thing, something that has not yet occurred, or something unexplainable.
Unconnected Yet assembles the work of 64 collage-based artists from ten countries and links the art and science communities of Boston, Kolkata, and beyond, bringing art from near and far to five galleries at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kolkata, India. Curators: Todd Bartel, Daniel Esponda, Teri Henderson, and Talin Megherian. A virtual exhibition is viewable here.
National Collage Society juried exhibition
Janice’s collage, “Recalibration: Place” has been selected for the National Collage Society’s 38th Annual Juried Exhibition at The Coburn Art Gallery at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio. The show will be on view from October 27 through November 19, 2022 and online. The opening reception will be held on October 27th from 4:30-6:30pm. The collage, made in 2021, is 10x10,” composed with found paper and walnut ink on wood panel.
PoetryXCollage journal
Several selections from Janice’s recent work, created during her participation in the Kolaj Institute’s initial Poetry and Collage Residency, are included in a new journal, PoetryXCollage. Pictured is “Island,” (9x8”, collage, 2022) which combined imagery and the line-ending words of an existing poem with added found words. (Janice wrote about the residency on her blog, here.)
PoetryXCollage is a printed journal of artwork and writing which operates at the intersection of poetry and collage (including found poetry, blackout poetry, collage poems, haikus, centos, response collages, etc.). Each issue presents six movements of work by artists and curators. Page spreads are free zones of thinking where the contributor has chosen all elements of the layout: font, image place, composition, etc.
Published by Kolaj and Kasini House, PoetryXCollage Volume Two also includes work by Anthony D. Kelly, Castle Bar, County Mayo, Ireland; Carla E. Reyes, Astoria, New York, USA; Samantha Brown, Blackrock, County Louth, Ireland; Laura Tafe, Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA. The publication is available for purchase here.
Cut Me Up magazine
Janice’s collage, “Metaphor” was selected for publication in Cut Me Up Issue 9: Scars and All, published in July 2022. (Copies are available for purchase online.)
Curated by Laurent Seljan, the issue is a selection of 18 artworks that use assembling methods—tape, thread, glue, staples and pins—as expressive elements to describe each artist’s personal psychology. Although glue is a means of attachment in most forms of collage, it is often hidden, creating a surreal quality. Collage can also be a metaphor for how we piece together the fragments of our lives. In our attempts to create a seamless, cohesive self, we may repress difficult emotions or conceal our flaws to create a smooth, presentable surface. But what is the real self beneath?
Janice says of her collage, “The ‘psychological self-portrait’ premise emboldened me to bring together some new directions I’ve been exploring recently: asemic writing, poetry and alternative connection methods. This big layered experiment evolved as I worked and attempted to bring a sense of myself to the composition. Beginning with the interior of an unfolded box, expressive marks and disparate element reveal the energy and complexity of the thoughts/feelings that animate my brain and make me who I am.” The collage is connected together with staples and just a bit of glue.
Corporeal Gestures exhibition
Janice’s collage, "Inhale," is included in "Corporeal Gestures," an international exhibition of contemporary collage works, on view April 4-29, 2022 at Portland State University’s School of Architecture, Shattuck Hall 2nd floor, 1914 SW Park Avenue, Portland, Oregon.
More than 100 collage artists from 21 countries responded to 9 ‘muses,’ characterized as the bodily necessities of breathing, nourishing, sleeping, discharging waste, procreating, resisting the earth’s pull, communicating, aging and dying.
A catalog, with work from each participating artist, also includes text by artist/curator Clive Knights to introduce the overall intent of the Corporeal Gestures project. Catalog available for purchase here (paperback, 138 pages, full color).
Poetry & Collage Residency
Janice was selected to participate in the Kolaj Institute’s inaugural Poetry and Collage Residency during March 2022. The goal: a deeper understanding of the intersection of collage and poetry. Twelve participants, from North America and Europe, will each create artwork (visual or written) to be considered for inclusion in a forthcoming book of collage and poetry from Kolaj Institute.
National Collage Society exhibition
“Momentum / 2020 Diary Compilation” was selected for the National Collage Society’s 37th Annual Juried Exhibition and has been designated as an award-winner. Online this year, the show can be viewed here.
Collage included in new book
Newly published, “Collage Care: Transforming Emotions and Life Experiences with Collage” is a thought-provoking and inspiring book by Laurie Kanyer. Over 150 images from a diverse group of artists are featured, along with content on why collage matters, how it can be a tool for greater understanding, and much more. One of Janice’s collages, part of the Doug and Laurie Kanyer Art Collection, “Beat,” is included in the book.
Viral Influence exhibition
“Momentum,” a compilation of images from Janice’s 2020 collage diary is included in the “Viral Influence“ exhibition, on view May 20 through August 22, 2021 at the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities in Arvada, Colorado.
The show is an overview of artwork that captures the impact of the pandemic on Colorado artists. From over 1000 submissions, 259 artworks by 168 artists were selected. It’s quite amazing to see how creative pursuits can flourish and provide solace during uncertain times, and in so many different ways.
Kolaj coverage
Grateful to Kolaj Magazine, a quarterly art magazine reviewing and surveying contemporary collage with an international perspective, for featuring Janice’s recent exhibition, “Moment/um,” here.
Moment/um Virtual Tour
Really happy to be able to share this viewing option with those who are far away or remaining sequestered due to COVID concerns.
Best viewing is on a computer monitor. Click on the circles on the floor to access different views. Gallery labels are readable by clicking on them.
Moment/um Exhibition
All the details about this show are here.
“While momentum has sometimes seemed elusive, I’ve found refuge amidst torn bits of reclaimed color and imagery, slowly solving puzzles of my own making. The result: small collage works with an uncertain and dynamic balance—reflective of our time—offering moments of solace, quiet joy, and hope.” — Janice McDonald
April 1 to April 25, 2021 at Spark Gallery, Denver, Colorado
Drop-in Opening: Saturday, April 3, 10am-5 pm.
Gallery hours: Thursdays 12-5pm, Fridays 12-7pm, Saturdays 12-5pm, Sundays 1-4pm.
Denver Collage Club / Month of Photography
Works from Janice’s “Humanity” series will be included in two exhibitions during Denver’s Month of Photography celebration:
“Thought Objects: Being, Essence and Notion,” at Alto Gallery from March 5 - 27, 2021. Opening reception: First Friday, March 5, 6 - 10pm. Gallery is open by appointment.
“Three Acts: A Survey of Shame, Emotion and Oblivion,” at RedLine Contemporary Art Center from March 6 - April 25, 2021. Opening reception: Saturday, March 6, 6 - 9pm.
NightLights Denver projections
Four of Janice’s collages are included in Night Lights Denver. Projected onto the historic Daniels & Fisher Tower on the 16th Street Mall, several short films and work by members of the Denver Collage Club are on view nightly (except Mondays) through January 31, 2021. The show runs from 5:30 to 10pm, repeating every 15 minutes or so.
Perfect as a social distancing adventure, bring some hot chocolate or grab a beer (best viewing is on the plaza adjacent to the Rock Bottom Brewery) — and check it out.
Considered the “People’s Projector,” Night Lights Denver is a way for the Denver Theatre District to support artists with an experimental platform, while attracting people downtown to experience a free, unique experience.
The projected image is a slightly cropped version of “Feelers,” a 20 x 10” collage on wood panel from 2009.
Cut Me Up magazine
Janice’s collage, “Facts Matter: Sources / Proof of Provenance” has been selected for publication in Cut Me Up Issue 4: Turning Point. Publication date is January 1, 2020. Copies are available via specious art online.
Curated by Max-O-Matic, this issue is a selection of 18 artworks that reflect on the present moment and contemporary culture through Dadaist critique and social commentary.
“Selected artworks are political and convey social commentaries built with bits and pieces of our contemporary culture—pure Dada spirit with a new and fresh approach. Each artwork adds to the map of relevant issues that challenge our future: climate change, populism, weapons, hatred and fear. But these selected artworks also challenge the history of collage and investigate new ways of creating with this media, breaking away from the obvious, logical and habitual. This collection of works may begin a roadmap to rethink what collage can be from now on.” — Max-O-Matic, curator
Spark Gallery Member Show
December 19, 2019 - January 19, 2020
”Quietude,” the largest collage from the ThroughLines series to date (20 x 20”) will be on view at Spark Gallery in Denver, Colorado as part of the annual “This is Spark!” show highlighting new work by each member artist.
National Collage Society
November 4 - December 7, 2019
“Daydream,” a collage from Janice’s ThroughLines series, was juried into the 35th Annual National Collage Society Exhibit. Just 54 collages were selected from among 373 entries. The Cummings Gallery at Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania will host the exhibition. The selected collage works will also be viewable online at nationalcollage.com/2019 beginning November 4.
Mixing It Up exhibition
July 23 - September 29, 2019
A selection of Janice’s work will be on view as part of a group show at the Hamilton Gallery at Children’s Hospital Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, 13123 East 16th Avenue, Aurora, Colorado. More info and photos on the blog.
KolajFest 2019
Janice will be speaking about working in a series at KolajFest in New Orleans in July. KolajFest is a multi-day festival and symposium about contemporary collage and its role in art, culture, and society.
Cut Me Up magazine
Janice’s collage, “Fore/Back: Ground” has been selected to be published in Cut Me Up Issue 3: Tabula Rasa. Publication date is July 1, 2019, copies are available via specious art online.