Referring to his recent work—that he’s been creating since 2021—as “hubs in a turning wheel of cultural influences,” Tim McDonald synthesizes various forms of inspiration into captivating, prismatic works. His narrative paintings have a quirkiness about them, evoking memories of munching on sugary cereal in front of Saturday morning cartoons. Beyond pop-culture, McDonald weaves forms of ritual into his work—especially those that soothe devastation. Following his mother’s passing in 2023, McDonald’s work shifted towards abstraction. He explains the change, saying, “To sit with dying, organically stripped away any sense of ‘story.’ I finished a large narrative painting about then, knowing it would be the end of an image cycle. The new work, while embracing abstraction, is still the hub of the wheel, which is much the same with a few of the spokes replaced, perhaps, by form, gesture, and color. The wheel turns and I try to find a painting there.”
McDonald lives with his life partner and animal companions in Framingham, MA and Wilmington, NC. He is an artist and professor at Framingham State University where he
teaches painting and drawing courses. He received his BA in Studio Art and English from
the University of Rhode Island in 1983, and his MFA in Painting from East Tennessee
State University in 2005. Tim has exhibited work in both solo and group exhibitions. Most recently, he was part of a two-person exhibition at Framingham State University’s Mazmanian Gallery entitled Internal Blooming and the Ancient Future, and was part of Remembering Together: Marking Lives COVID-19, Broad Institute at MIT in Boston, MA.