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.
Recent Shows and/or Exhibitions
2019
March 10th – May 19th
The Imaginary – Carnegie Art Museum – Oxnard, CA
Select Permanent Collections
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)
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.
Recent Shows and/or Exhibitions
2019
March 10th – May 19th
The Imaginary – Carnegie Art Museum – Oxnard, CA
Select Permanent Collections
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)