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Richard MacDonald’s bold divergence from the well-worn path is taking him further into uncharted artistic territory, and deeper into the realization of his own vision.  This is an important moment.  Like many important moments that occur in our over-crowded consciousness, its importance won’t be understood immediately.  Art takes a long time—in every sense--and we rarely see, or understand, the significant shifts: except in retrospect.

 He has been an independent spirit, an innovator, and a mold-breaker since he first made mastery of figurative sculpture his vehicle for expression.  That decision, or compulsion, set him on a solitary path.  As the twentieth century culminated in a rejection of representation of the human figure—which for millennium was the almost universal core of art—Richard MacDonald has gone deeper into the mastery of the figure. Do not mistake this for the end goal.  Lesser artists do stop there because the figure is the most challenging subject.  However, for Richard MacDonald, the mastery of the figure gives him a way to express deeper truths about our shared human experience. 

We have no picture of the human spirit.  There is no map of our consciousness.  These intangibles invariably find expression in the form of our bodies—that is our shared reference point.  In Richard MacDonald’s recent work, we are getting a clearer and clearer picture of metaphysical truths through the depiction of the human form.  

It is not an overstatement to see the latest works, Reflection and Dancing Waters, as an entirely new chapter in the story of this artist’s rediscovery of figurative art.  Bold material choices, such as highly polished stainless steel, announce the “newness” as boldly as a trumpet blast. This is NEW.  Newness was the overused trope of the last century and chasing the “new” led to some artistic dead-ends. This is not novelty for the sake of it, but rather an expansion of ideas that have been brewing for Richard MacDonald for decades.  The works currently being developed (they are not finished yet) have a deep history.  

Richard MacDonald has long been interested in the idea of our duality as individuals.  We are never one entity, one personality, one character.  We shift and change, we affect each other—like shimmering reflections in water, our being cannot be captured and held, our essential being is ever moving, like water spilling over a waterfall.  Key moments in our lives reverberate forever.  We deeply remember the events that hit us hard, both good and bad.  

The highly reflective surface of the new works brings the viewer into the sculpture.  This is a revolutionary idea in the realm of figurative art.  As we see our own reflections shift and change on the triangular surface, we are reminded of our many faceted personalities.  We relate to the sculpted figure, but the composition and material make us a part of the artwork.  Similarly, the element of water is loaded with meaning, both ancient and modern.  The falling water incorporated into Dancing Waters reminds us of the constant state of flux that is human existence.  It is ever-changing and cannot be held.  The water in this piece forms a veil that creates a dream-like experience—we can see through this veil, but it represents the impenetrable mysteries of our lives.

As human beings, we see better when we are looking back over our shoulder, at events that have passed by.  We call it “perspective”.  It is with effort that we recognize, in the moment, the significance of our experiences.  Richard MacDonald has built a tremendous foundation of for the artwork he is now creating.  We are privileged to witness this landmark pivot towards new ways of expressing ideas that are older than the foundations of figurative sculpture itself.  Truly, a new age of expression, with ancient roots.