Artist's 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.

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:

2010:    The Westmoreland Juried Biennial, Greensburg, PA

2009:    Art of the State, State Museum, Harrisburg, PA
            How Art Gets Made, Concept Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA

2008:    The Westmoreland Juried Biennial, Greensburg, PA

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 Art

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.                                             McKee, Nelson LLC
Chesapeake Area Health Center             Messiah College
College Misericordia                              Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
Connaught Corp.                                   Southern Union Corporation
Heinz Endowments                               Telcordia
John Heinz Rehabilitation Center            U. S. Federal Court, Scranton    
Maslow  Collection                                Wilkes University