Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Download this press release as a PDF. Contact: Kathleen Flynn, 212-226-0573 or kflynn@dieudonne.org Michele Oka Doner Neuration of the Genus March 17— April 23, 2011 Reception: Thursday, March 17 from 6 — 8pm March 9, 2011, New York, NY. Dieu Donné is pleased to present an exhibition featuring work in handmade paper by Michele Oka Doner, opening March 17 and on view through April 23, 2010, and the artist will be present. Michele Oka Doner is captivated by the natural world, which forms an integral part of her visual vocabulary. Throughout her inspiring oeuvre, the artist has explored a wide variety of media and practices, and is renowned for her public art installations, sculpture and functional objects. This exhibition is dedicated to her work in handmade paper, a process she first worked with in the late [UTF-8?]1960’s and rediscovered in 2004 at the Dieu Donné studios and that she continues to this day. The installation is comprised of a series of fifteen 40 x 60 inch handmade abaca works and unique [UTF-8?]artist’s books including an oversized 40 x 30 inch book, Neuration of Tantalus. All of these works incorporate organic palm material, often with tremendous texture and density, directly into the paper creating a highly charged relationship between the objects they are and the images they create. The specific plant forms Oka Doner chooses and the arrangements she achieves are suspended in an ethereal veil of sublimity within the abaca sheets; we sense Oka [UTF-8?]Doner’s transformative hand. These dramatic works express a devotion to [UTF-8?]nature’s detritus and a clear understanding of the distinct, almost hieroglyphic, form of language they represent. The artist uses these materials as a sculptor does, creating a series of unique works that capture the spirit and form of the natural world. This exhibition celebrates the release of What is the White, a limited edition artist book that sensuously explores the nature of whiteness. The artist tells her story through a convergence of exquisite materials [UTF-8?]– translucent and opaque papers, sumptuous waxes and felts, original prose letterpressed in the [UTF-8?]artist’s hand [UTF-8?]– aptly described by the art historian Pari Stave as [UTF-8?]“an artic jewel [UTF-8?]box.” Forming an exquisite and meditative object, the book transports the viewer from the systematic theories of whiteness, color and perception to [UTF-8?]nature’s more spiritual rewards. About the artist: The artist is well known for her numerous public art installations, including A Walk on the Beach at The Miami International Airport and Healing Plants at the UMDNJ University Hospital Center in Newark. Her sculpture and functional objects have been acquired by many prestigious museums, among them The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Included in her many publications are three monographs: Natural Seduction (2003), Workbook (2004) and Michele Oka Doner: HumanNature (2008). Oka Doner is represented by Marlborough Gallery. About Dieu Donné: Founded in 1976, Dieu Donné is a non-profit artist workspace dedicated to the creation, promotion, and preservation of contemporary art in the hand papermaking process. In support of this mission, Dieu Donné collaborates with artists and partners with the professional visual arts community. Top right: Neuration: Dionysa (detail), 2005. Book page from unique artists book. Organic material embedded in handmade abaca leaves. The artistic and educational programs at Dieu Donné are made possible with public funds from The National Endowment for the Arts; The New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency; The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with The City Council; and Foundation support including: The Lily Auchincloss Foundation Inc., Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Cowles Family Foundation, The Dedalus Foundation, Inc., Foundation for the Contemporary Arts, The Greenwall Foundation, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Lauder Foundation, The Daniel M. Neidich and Brooke Garber Foundation, The Renaissace Charitable Foundation (The Dresner Sadaka Family Fund), Rolin Foundation, May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc., The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts; and major individual support including: Melva Bucksbaum and Raymond Learsy, Cashin Family Fund, Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro, Susan Hess, Hurst Family Foundation, The Dorothea L. Leonhardt Foundation, Inc., The Marden Family Foundation, Inc., Nancy and Fred Poses, Anthony Sosnik, Lenard and Fern Tessler, Carol and Michael Weisman, and individual donors. Dieu Donné 315 West 36th Street, New York, NY 10018 | www.dieudonne.org | (212) 226-0573 You are receiving this e-mail because you have signed up for our newsletter. Remove me from this list. Forward this email to a friend.