10/09/2026
KEVIN MACDONALD
V. Exhibition
October 9 - November 30, 2026
Washington, DC - HEMPHILL is pleased to announce the virtual exhibition, Kevin MacDonald: Dream State a selection of works in colored pencil, pastel, and graphite on paper, alongside oil on paper and oil on canvas works.
A first impression of one of Kevin MacDonald’s colored pencil drawings is wonderment. What is this? Is it a drawing, a photo, a print? MacDonald began with a fine graphite drawing to lay out a scene, building shapes and shadow with finely crosshatched colored pencil marks, gradations of color, and a love for the subtle, soft surface of paper.
Coming of age in Washington, DC in the 1960s, as a student at the Corcoran School of Art, MacDonald was surrounded by the artists of the Washington Color School, who were experimenting with acrylic pigment on raw canvas and the liberation from subject matter. In contrast, MacDonald’s work embodied the rigorous, close study of objects and spatial relationships, remaining steadfastly dedicated to rendering, contour and the meticulous labor of translating a visual narrative to the two-dimensional plane.
Kevin’s signature works depict domestic interiors, urban sidewalks and storefronts, and the suburban housing tracts of post-WWII America. While void of people, these spaces vibrate with evidence of human presence in the form of a rumpled bedsheet, an abandoned coffee cup on a restaurant table, or an idling car. Depictions of familiar downtown spaces and the more far-flung geography of American life reflect a quiet concern, homing in on the fragility of urban architecture and recognizing the urgency of pollution's impact on the environment, all with a grace and pathos that gives the viewer license to observe on their own terms...
Click the link below to view the exhibition.
https://www.hemphillartworks.com/exhibitions/kevin-macdonald
Morning in Mexico, 1983
pastel, colored pencil on paper
30 x 22 inches
