About The Artist
Illinois born artist Donna Wallace-Cohen started out as a piano major at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, fully intending to work toward a concert career. Her early pull toward art had been apparent, however her family chose to give their support to a career in music. On a summer vacation she visited the Chicago Art Institute and saw Willem de Kooning's "Excavation."
Everything changed at that moment when she realized that her primary focus was to make art. She left music behind and was written off by her parents as a failure. Shortly thereafter, working several jobs, she enrolled as a part time student at the Chicago Art Institute's School of Art and continued painting. Wallace showed her work at any and every available open venue in and around Chicago, and in 1963 was given a one woman show at the Medici Gallery near the University of Chicago in Hyde Park, Il. The actual process of making art is what Donna loves doing the most, and often she is motivated to explore and create dialogue about social injustices that she cares deeply about. On some level she has her own way of working and coming up with unexpected connections, sometimes needing to "wander and daydream" in order to form an idea. |
As those thoughts come together she then rather compulsively pushes those ideas as far as they will go in the process of making art. Often her work is labor intensive and can take up to a year before it "feels" right. Her working mediums includes most of the tools and materials used for painting, collage, and constructions.
Donna Wallace-Cohen has led many lives simultaneously. In the late 60's she made rock and roll posters for many San Francisco rock bands and venues. Her work can be found by Googling her former name, "Donna Herrick poster artist." One of her posters has been acquired by the de Young Museum of Art in San Francisco, Ca. as part of their permanent collection.
For sixteen years Wallace-Cohen also wore the professional hat of corporate visual director for several companies including Bloomingdales New York. In 1996 she opened "Wallace Studio" a commercial business for design, illustration and photography in Sausalito, Ca. A client list is available on request.
Currently Donna Wallace-Cohen is building constructions and hanging sculptures in her Mill Valley studio where she continues to make art about the issues she cares about. Subjects such as school shootings, drug prices, Chinese railroad workers, child abuse, breast cancer and memorials for forgotten souls are a few of the themes she has explored. A list of gallery shows and awards is available on request.