The Untold Gaze - Project Page

In Stephen O'Donnell's lush, droll, gender-bending paintings, the stories are often ambiguous. They lie just beyond the frame, through an open doorway, in a sealed letter on the floor, in the glint of a penetrating eye.

"The story always is there, in all the subconscious intent of the work. But because I leave the questions unanswered, because I refuse to set words to the visual music, I believe it allows the viewer to discover their own story in each painting."

Through the words of a curated group of talented writers, The Untold Gaze will give voice to the rich stories inherent in O'Donnell's work. Each writer will choose a painting and, with no more prompt than that image, will create a piece of original short fiction that marries the unique perspective of the writer with the unique perspective of the artist.

In this selection of paintings, O'Donnell gives us audacious self-portraits in elaborate eighteenth century coiffures, mythical goddesses in 1940s frocks, biblical beheadings, opulent interiors, self-possessed birds and elegantly appointed monkeys. From here, there's no telling where the stories will take us. This project will explore the communication between the painting and the viewer and will highlight the endless possibilities of perspective and art.

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Below are paintings that will be included in the book. All of these image files are quite large, so feel free to click on the image, then right click and select "view image" to see full size. But then you probably already knew that, didn't you...? : )