William "Bill" Donnan (NC, b. 1951), Stack

1994, reinforced concrete, unsigned, hollow form sculpted over a wire mesh armature.

Approximately 110 x 73 x 32 in.

From the Collection of Lise & Eddie Cooke, Summerfield, North Carolina

Bill Donnan received his BFA from East Carolina University in 1973 and his MFA from the University of Georgia in 1975. In 1978 he joined the Design Staff of the North Carolina Zoological Park and learned about the wonders of reinforced cement as a sculptural medium. For five years he created natural habitats using large scale artificial rocks and trees as containment and enrichment for exotic animals. Since then Donnan has been refining and expanding his knowledge and technique of reinforced cement in the development of his own sculptural imagery.

He works with imagery derived from natural forms abstracted to the point where it is not obvious to the viewer whether the sculpture is found or man made.

Donnan’s work has been installed on college campuses such as the University of North Carolina in Asheville, the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and the University of South Carolina in Spartanburg. He has regularly participated in the Public Sculpture Project held at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, in the Tri-State Sculptors Guild Annual Exhibitions (held at various universities in the Carolinas), at the Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art, and in Washington Square exhibitions in Washington, D.C. Sculptures by this artist have also been on view at the Fayetteville Museum of Art in North Carolina and the North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill.

Some surface abrasions and marks from outdoor display; some rust to underside metal stand.