Artist Works

ARTIST STATEMENT

Over the past twenty five years I have developed an increasingly spare vocabulary of forms. At one time more organic, my pieces have gradually become more geometric through the influence of both process and choice of material. My earliest works were designed as clay models and then scaled up into laminated hardwood, kiln dried boards glued together to create a stable mass. Wood was initially a choice of convenience, a permanent material, readily available and easily worked with common tools. As I moved towards more regular solids I eliminated the clay models and began to design pieces on a graph pad. This process of working with a grid has influenced the shapes, as has the continued use of dimensional hardwood lumber. Although I have never considered myself a “woodworker”, I now rarely think in terms of another material.

My work has always been about simple, subtle curves, shifting planes and how light reveals them. Free standing pieces are most often about transitions from one shape to another. The use of a contrasting material, most often silver leaf or paint, not only plays off the sensuous quality of the wood and adds a secondary design element but also emphasizes the play of light across the surface. While not strictly serial, my pieces tend to evolve one out of the other. One piece will often generate ideas for other variations. Ultimately, the decision of which pieces work aesthetically and which do not is intuitive. Scale and proportion are both very important. Although formal and abstract in design, my pieces are intended to be appreciated on a more intimate level as objects we encounter on a very human scale.

EDUCATION

The Pennsylvania State University, 1975-78: Master of Fine Arts
Cornell University, 1971-75: Bachelor of Fine Arts
Tyler School of Art in Rome, Fall 1974

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

2007		Art of the State, State Museum, Harrisburg, PA
2006		Two person show JMS Gallery, Chestnut Hill, PA The Westmoreland Juried Biennial, Greensburg, PA
2005		Invitational The White Room, Seven-0-Seven Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
2004		Kevin O'Toole: New Works The Butler Institute of American Art – Salem, Salem OH Echo of the Medium, tadu Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, NM Anomaly, ADM Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2003		Inaugural Exhibition ADM Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2002		Gestures, Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, PA Two-person show, Sewickley Gallery, Sewickley, PA
2001		91st Annual, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh Ephemeral, Group A, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts
2000		90th Annual, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh Exquisite Surface, Concept Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA Repetition & Rhythm, Group A, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts
1998		Special Exhibition, 88th Annual, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh Small Work, Group A, Gallery in the Square, Pittsburgh, PA
1997		87th Annual, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh Group A, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts
1996		One-person show, Laura Craig Gallery, Scranton, PA New Statements, Adam & Art Gallery, Bellefonte, PA Group A, Drawing Show, Gallery in the Square, Pittsburgh
1995		15th Annual Small Works Show, Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA Beyond the 3rd Dimension, Contemporary Sculpture, Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Loretto, PA Object/Material, Harlan Gallery, Seton Hill College, Greensburg, PA Kevin O'Toole: Reliefs and Minimalist Sculpture, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh Gallery, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts
1994		One-person show, 808 Penn Modern, Pittsburgh Summer show, 808 Penn Modern
1993		Hard Choices III, Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Johnstown; Wood Street Galleries; Nexus Gallery; Sordoni Art Gallery; Pennsylvania State Museum The Minimalist Sculptures of Kevin O’Toole, Woodmere Art Museum, Phildelphia
1992		Two-person show, Maria Feliz Gallery, Jim Thorpe, PA Rhoneymeade Sculpture Invitational, Robbins Award Recipient, Centre Hall, PA Regional Art ’92, Contemporary Gallery Merit Award, Marywood College, Scranton, PA 23rd Juried Show, Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, PA
1991		Confluence, The Gallery at the State Theatre, Center for the Arts, Easton, PA The Regilded Age, Newark Museum, Newark, NJ Four Artists, Allentown Art Museum Shadow and Light, Regeneration, Easton, PA Art of the State, State Museum, Harrisburg, PA
1990		Kevin O'Toole: Small Sculpture and Drawings, MacDonald Art Gallery, College Misericordia, Dallas, PA Betty and Isaac Hamburger Sculpture Award, Academy of the Arts 26th Annual National Juried Exhibition, Easton, MD Second Prize, Mayfair Juried Art Exhibition, Center for the Arts, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA 22nd Juried Show, Allentown Art Museum (selected for Summer 1991 exhibition) Two-person show, Messiah College, Grantham, PA
1989		Mayfair Juried Art Exhibition, Center for the Arts, Muhlenberg College
1988		The Summer Exhibition, Michael Walls Gallery, NYC Best in Show, Susquehanna Regional Art Exhibition, Roberson Center, Binghampton, NY 23rd Biennial Exhibition, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 21st Juried Show, Allentown Art Museum
1987		Susquehanna Regional Art Exhibition, Roberson Center, Binghampton, NY
1986		Invitational Small Sculpture Show, Messiah College One-person show, Roger LaPelle Galleries, Philadelphia, PA
1985		Jubilee Exhibition, Gallery G, Pittsburgh Sculpture Invitational, Roger LaPelle Galleries
1984		Central Pennsylvania Artists Invitational, Centre Gallery, Bucknell University 21st Biennial Exhibition, University of Delaware One-person show, Gross-McCleaf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1983		Ten Philadelphia Artists, Villanova University, Philadelphia, PA Director’s Choice, Gross-McCleaf Gallery
1982		Sculpture ’82 / Franklin Plaza, Philadelphia New Jersey Great Ideas ’82, Pavilion Gassery, Burlington County Great Lakes Regional Art Exhibition, Cleveland, OH One-person show, Gross-McCleaf Gallery
1981		27th Annual Drawing and Small Sculpture Show, Ball State University, Muncie, IN Marietta National, Marietta College, Marietta, OH
1977		Contemporary Pennsylvania Sculpture, Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Loretto, PA

AWARDS AND PRIZES

First Prize, sculpture, Art of the State 2007
Maggie Milano Award, 90th Annual AAP Exhibition, 2000
Tillie S. Speyer Award, 87th Annual AAP Exhibition, 1997
Individual Artist Fellowship, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, 1992
Finalist, Belin Fellowship, 1992
Alternate, Fullbright Fellowship, 1978
David Bean Fellowship, Cornell University, 1974

COLLECTIONS

Akzo, Inc. Chesapeake Area Health Center College Misericordia Connaught Corp. Heinz Endowments John Heinz Rehabilitation Center Maslow Collection

McKee, Nelson LLC Messiah College Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Southern Union Corporation Telcordia U. S. Federal Court, Scranton Wilkes University