Biography
Adonna Khare is an American master carbon-pencil artist. Her style has been compared to the photo-realistic illustrations of Audubon, but the surreal worlds and strange inhabitants she creates can only spring from her imagination. Khare’s life-size works, which she is focusing on more and more, possess the scope of a painting, but with enough detail and realism to give viewers the impression they can step through the paper and into Adonna’s worlds. Though she stays steadfast to her chosen mediums, pencil and paper, her work spans from 8” x 11” to massive murals covering entire walls. She says of her process, “I draw how one might sculpt,” and the final artworks contain far more layers of pencil than the surface belies. A review of her in-progress pieces reveal hints of skeleton, almost as if she is drawing her fictional subjects from the inside out.
Adonna's work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, NPR, The Huffington Post, American Art Collector, Juxtapoz Magazine, Hi-Fructose, Mashable, My Modern Metropolis and more. Her work has been exhibited at Crystal Bridges Art Museum, Boise Art Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Grand Rapids Art Museum, The Long Beach Art Museum, Yellowstone Art Museum and others. Her works are in numerous prestigious private and museum collections around the world. Adonna holds a Masters of Fine Arts degree from California State University Long Beach.
Artist Statement
“Raised in a small town in Iowa, I’ve been drawing my family and animals since I was three. I create using the pencil, the eraser and a sock as my tools. The drawings are not pre-planned rather they evolve through my experiences with people and the absurdities of life. The result is a group of drawings where the animals coexist in a world beyond ours, and are inexplicably tied together, often not by choice.” The animals, she explains, are sometimes stand-ins for us. A lot of her work deals with the absurdities in life. Juxtaposing predator and prey conveys a change of context, it brings the viewers in to really think about their understanding of not only the animals but those that are around them. The Elephant pieces (like with the rocks) have to do with the weight that we carry around in our lives. She considers all these beasts of burden, symbolizing the human condition. However, the piece also reflect joys and have a humorous side.
C.V.
Education
M.F.A. California State University Long Beach
B.A. California State University Long Beach
Solo Shows
• Adonna Khare Drawings: Visions West Gallery, Denver, CO 2017
• Adonna Khare Drawings: A05 Gallery, Austin,TX 2017
• Adonna Khare Drawings: Hollis Taggart Gallery, Chelsea, NY 2016
• Adonna Khare Solo: Boise Art Museum Boise, Idaho 2016
• Between The Lines: Lora Schlesinger Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2016
• Playing with Matches: Visions West, Denver, Colorado 2015
• In The Clouds: Lora Schlesinger Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2013
• Menagerie: Lora Schlesinger Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2011
• Beast, Backpacks and Curious Creatures: William D. Cannon, Carlsbad, CA
2010
• By a Thread: Lora Schlesinger Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2008
Select Group Shows
• Mama Made: Elizabeth Holden Gallery, North Carolina 2017
• Beasts of Burden: TUF Gallery, New York 2017
• Drawings from the archive: Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, MI
2017
• State of the Art: Frist Center for the Arts, Nashville, TN 2017
• Animal Meet Human: Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, Arkansas 2017
• Off the Page: Mesa Contemporary Art Museum, Mesa, AZ 2016
• Never Say No: Galerie Wolfsen Denmark 2015
• Brand 43:Works on Paper Glendale, CA 2015
• StoryTellers: Fullerton College, Fullerton, CA 2015
• 38th Annual Salon National Des Artistes Animaliers, Paris France
2014
• State of the Art: Crystal Bridges Museum, Bentonville, Arkansas 2014
• Face to Face: Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, Montana 2014
• Story Tellers: Biola University, La Mirada, CA 2014
• ArtPrize: Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, MI 2012
• Animal Attractions: PS Zask Art Gallery, Rolling Hills, CA 2009
• Sweet Subversives: Long Beach Art Museum, Long Beach, CA 2009
• WHIM-WHAM: Los Angeles Municpal Art Gallery Los Angeles 2009
• Surrealism Today: Nassau County Museum of Art, Nassau New York
2007
Articles
• Juxtapoz Magazine: Adonna Khare: A Voice for the Wild
• American Art Collector: Adonna Khare: Issue #125
• Wall Street Journal: The State of ‘State of the Art’ 2016
2016
2014
• ArtInfo: Portfolio Review: The Surreal Animal Drawings of Adonna Khare
2012
Select Blogs
• Juxtapoz, HyperAllergic, Hi-Fructose, Huffington Post, Saatchi Gallery, EmptyKingdom, MyModernMet, TwistedSifter
Select Permanent Collection
• Crystal Bridges Art Museum
• Grand Rapids Art Museum
• Long Beach Art Museum
• Alice Walton (Walmart)
• Mark Parker (Nike)
• Christian Baha (Superfund)
• Javier Baz (Private Investor)
Arist in Residency
• Teton Art Lab, Jackson Hole, WY
• Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, MI
• Crystal Bridges Art Museum, Bentonville, AR
Adonna Khare is an American master carbon-pencil artist. Her style has been compared to the photo-realistic illustrations of Audubon, but the surreal worlds and strange inhabitants she creates can only spring from her imagination. Khare’s life-size works, which she is focusing on more and more, possess the scope of a painting, but with enough detail and realism to give viewers the impression they can step through the paper and into Adonna’s worlds. Though she stays steadfast to her chosen mediums, pencil and paper, her work spans from 8” x 11” to massive murals covering entire walls. She says of her process, “I draw how one might sculpt,” and the final artworks contain far more layers of pencil than the surface belies. A review of her in-progress pieces reveal hints of skeleton, almost as if she is drawing her fictional subjects from the inside out.
Adonna's work has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, NPR, The Huffington Post, American Art Collector, Juxtapoz Magazine, Hi-Fructose, Mashable, My Modern Metropolis and more. Her work has been exhibited at Crystal Bridges Art Museum, Boise Art Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Grand Rapids Art Museum, The Long Beach Art Museum, Yellowstone Art Museum and others. Her works are in numerous prestigious private and museum collections around the world. Adonna holds a Masters of Fine Arts degree from California State University Long Beach.
Artist Statement
“Raised in a small town in Iowa, I’ve been drawing my family and animals since I was three. I create using the pencil, the eraser and a sock as my tools. The drawings are not pre-planned rather they evolve through my experiences with people and the absurdities of life. The result is a group of drawings where the animals coexist in a world beyond ours, and are inexplicably tied together, often not by choice.” The animals, she explains, are sometimes stand-ins for us. A lot of her work deals with the absurdities in life. Juxtaposing predator and prey conveys a change of context, it brings the viewers in to really think about their understanding of not only the animals but those that are around them. The Elephant pieces (like with the rocks) have to do with the weight that we carry around in our lives. She considers all these beasts of burden, symbolizing the human condition. However, the piece also reflect joys and have a humorous side.
C.V.
Education
M.F.A. California State University Long Beach
B.A. California State University Long Beach
Solo Shows
• Adonna Khare Drawings: Visions West Gallery, Denver, CO 2017
• Adonna Khare Drawings: A05 Gallery, Austin,TX 2017
• Adonna Khare Drawings: Hollis Taggart Gallery, Chelsea, NY 2016
• Adonna Khare Solo: Boise Art Museum Boise, Idaho 2016
• Between The Lines: Lora Schlesinger Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2016
• Playing with Matches: Visions West, Denver, Colorado 2015
• In The Clouds: Lora Schlesinger Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2013
• Menagerie: Lora Schlesinger Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2011
• Beast, Backpacks and Curious Creatures: William D. Cannon, Carlsbad, CA
2010
• By a Thread: Lora Schlesinger Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2008
Select Group Shows
• Mama Made: Elizabeth Holden Gallery, North Carolina 2017
• Beasts of Burden: TUF Gallery, New York 2017
• Drawings from the archive: Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, MI
2017
• State of the Art: Frist Center for the Arts, Nashville, TN 2017
• Animal Meet Human: Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, Arkansas 2017
• Off the Page: Mesa Contemporary Art Museum, Mesa, AZ 2016
• Never Say No: Galerie Wolfsen Denmark 2015
• Brand 43:Works on Paper Glendale, CA 2015
• StoryTellers: Fullerton College, Fullerton, CA 2015
• 38th Annual Salon National Des Artistes Animaliers, Paris France
2014
• State of the Art: Crystal Bridges Museum, Bentonville, Arkansas 2014
• Face to Face: Yellowstone Art Museum, Billings, Montana 2014
• Story Tellers: Biola University, La Mirada, CA 2014
• ArtPrize: Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, MI 2012
• Animal Attractions: PS Zask Art Gallery, Rolling Hills, CA 2009
• Sweet Subversives: Long Beach Art Museum, Long Beach, CA 2009
• WHIM-WHAM: Los Angeles Municpal Art Gallery Los Angeles 2009
• Surrealism Today: Nassau County Museum of Art, Nassau New York
2007
Articles
• Juxtapoz Magazine: Adonna Khare: A Voice for the Wild
• American Art Collector: Adonna Khare: Issue #125
• Wall Street Journal: The State of ‘State of the Art’ 2016
2016
2014
• ArtInfo: Portfolio Review: The Surreal Animal Drawings of Adonna Khare
2012
Select Blogs
• Juxtapoz, HyperAllergic, Hi-Fructose, Huffington Post, Saatchi Gallery, EmptyKingdom, MyModernMet, TwistedSifter
Select Permanent Collection
• Crystal Bridges Art Museum
• Grand Rapids Art Museum
• Long Beach Art Museum
• Alice Walton (Walmart)
• Mark Parker (Nike)
• Christian Baha (Superfund)
• Javier Baz (Private Investor)
Arist in Residency
• Teton Art Lab, Jackson Hole, WY
• Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids, MI
• Crystal Bridges Art Museum, Bentonville, AR