Biography

James Macdonell (b. 1958, Lafayette, LA) graduated from Amherst College in January 1980 with a degree in English. As part of the Five College program, he studied photography under Jerome Liebling, Elaine May, and Bill Arnold at Hampshire College, and printmaking under Barry Sease at Mount Holyoke. In 1976, James began working summer jobs on the island of Captiva, FL for noted artist Robert Rauschenberg. For James, this was the beginning of a transformative period that reshaped his perceptions, worldview, and aesthetic vision.

He observed, firsthand, Rauschenberg’s processes; the technical dynamics of producing large integrated structural paintings (Combines). In assemblage, James understood the symbolism, interpreted the values, and developed a sense of place and order for his own work. This association and their friendship spanned more than three decades until Rauschenberg’s death in 2008.