Michele Oka Doner, c. 1969, image courtesy of the artist.
Michele Oka Doner hails originally from Miami Beach, where her father served as mayor, and was based in Ann Arbor by the time of the exhibition, where she had recently attended University of Michigan. Oka Doner established her reputation with a series of ceramic doll-figures richly ornamented with surface patterns suggestive of tattooing but also Vorticist lines of force.
Since the time of Objects: USA, her individualistic vocabulary has expanded exponentially, taking in materials such as wax and cast bronze, always poised at the intersection of natural and abstract form. Even in a field that celebrates the life that skilled makers bring to raw matter, her work stands out for its animistic, mystical qualities.
Tattooed Dolls in glazed porcelain with iron oxide. Made by Michele Oka Doner, USA, 1968.
9" L x 9" W x 13" H
22.9cm L x 22.9cm W x 33cm H
SC861
Courtesy of the artist