Patricia McDonough - 2000

The Robin Rice Gallery announces solo exhibition of photography by Patricia McDonough. The opening reception will be held on Wednesday, November 15, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The show runs through December 31.

Patricia McDonough’s photographs are a kind of exquisite deception. In frequently gorgeous hues and bold compositions, they tell what seem to be matter-of-fact stories about everyday, public life. But like David Lynch’s films, McDonough’s pictures are disarming: they contain something mysterious and private beneath their calm veneers, and they captivate viewers by casting a strong and often darkly humorous mood.

In Marfa, the invitational piece, a voluptuous, bra-clad woman appears inside a narrow frame of window in a low stucco house. She is seen from the outside while she is stretching, thrusting her long neck upward and hiding her head from view. In a scraggly garden just beneath the window, a big spiny plant seems about to prick her flesh. Orlando portrays two middle-aged white male golfers putting on a verdant green in luminous sunlight. While deeply focused on the game, they are naked--except for their shoes. Another image, Wifey, depicts a platinum-blonde woman in yellow rubber gloves taking a break from her housework. She stands behind a white picket fence with her face downcast, and is flanked by two little birds, perched nearby as if to offer sympathy.

A native of North Carolina, Patricia McDonough attended the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where she received a degree in journalism. After moving to New York a decade ago, she studied film at NYU and began assisting photographers. She has worked as a commercial photographer since 1994 with clients including United Airlines, The History Channel, Esquire, GQ and Outside Magazine. Her photographs have appeared on book jackets, album covers and in American Photography and Communication Arts Award publications. McDonough’s work has appeared in several group shows at the Robin Rice Gallery. This is her first solo show.