Additional information
by James Macdonell (Author)
James Macdonell Retrospective 2004-2025 is a museum catalogue/artist monograph representing 20 years of the artist's practice since relocating to Louisiana from New York. This book is Inspired by the artist's lifelong friendship with noted and celebrated artist Robert Rauschenberg. As a youth James was best friend's with Rauschenberg's nephew. James was a trusted family confidant and was hired by Rauschenberg to deliver art to famed dealer Leo Castelli in Soho, New York at the height of Rauschenberg's career. This book represents a unique trajectory, voice and signature of an artist who is important and relevant and should be mentioned in the same breath as Rauschenberg and the giants of assemblage, collage and photo montage. In 2025 the Frank Gehry designed The Ohr-O'Keefe Museum Of Art in Biloxi Mississippi is exhibiting a solo retrospective of James Macdonell's work that's featured in this book.
Author Biography
As a teenager James Macdonell began working summer jobs on the island of Captiva, FL for celebrated, noted and famed artist Robert Rauschenberg. For James, this was the beginning of a transformative period that reshaped his perceptions, worldview, and aesthetic vision. He observed, firsthand, Rauschenberg's practice and processes; mainly the technical dynamics of producing large integrated structural paintings (Combines). In assemblage, James absorbed the symbolism, interpreted values, and developed a sense of place and order for his own work. This association of being in the inner circle and their friendship spanned more than three decades until Rauschenberg's death in 2008.
