CV
Jock McDonald, born in Vancouver, Canada in 1961, opened his Art studio in San Francisco in 1986. He is a self-taught photographer whose work - both in black-and-white and color - has achieved national and international critical acclaim for its distinctive use of humanity, our shared commonalities, and qualities of mystery. McDonald’s portraiture, his depictions of world rural life, and Woven works have been widely published and exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, including exhibitions in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, and Cuba co-sponsored by the Mexican, Canadian, U.S., Cuban, and former Eastern European Soviet governments. His last exhibit, titled One World Portrait, was shown at the 2009 Havana Biennial in Cuba.
MAJOR FINE ART EXHIBITIONS
2019 The Light of Water, San Francisco International Airport, May 2019
2017 The Art of Jock McDonald, Found by Maja, San Francisco, CA, USA.
2016 Native Son Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
2015 Napa Valley Collects, Napa Valley Museum, Napa, CA, USA.
2013 Liquidity, Havana the Long View, Gallery 16, San Francisco, CA, USA.
2012 Liquidity, The Journey of Water, Galeria Galiano, Centro Habana, Cuba.
2010 One World Portrait, Lehigh University Art Gallery Museum, LUAG Gallery, Bethleham, PA, USA.
2009 Water: Liquid: Instability, 291 Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA.
2009 One World Portrait, Havana Bienal, Havana, Cuba.
2009 One World Portrait, Y2Y Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA.
2009 The Perspective Show: Straight Lines in a Round World, Ogilvy, New York, USA.
2008 The Perspective Show: Straight Lines in a Round World, 291 Gallery, San Francisco, CA, USA.
2007 Being and Seeming, 30 years of Self Portraits, Casa Escorza, Gaudalajara, Mexico.
2007 “A Series of Series” di Rosa Preserve, Gatehouse Gallery, Napa, CA, USA.
2006 “A Series of Series” Ex Convento del Carmen, Guadalajara, Mexico.
2006 Included in the Bienal, Havana, Cuba.
2004 Untitled (Portrait of Gunter Gerzo), Permanent collection of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, (Santa Barbara).
2004 Terra Firma, The Roots of Community. Portraits of rural life. Museum Fototeca de Cuba, (Havana, Cuba).
2004 Terra Firma, The Roots of Community.Portraits of rural life. The Branson School, (Ross, CA).
2003 The Rurals: Soul to Soul. Texas Tech University (Lubbock, TX), August - October.
2003 The Rurals: Soul to Soul. Center for Contemporary Arts (Abilene, TX), March.
1999 The Possibility of the Impossible: Rural Portraits of Cuba and the United States of America. ITESO, Centro Cultural (Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico).
1998 The Color of Black & White. Digital Pond Gallery (San Francisco).
1996 The Rurals. Robert Mondavi Winery (Oakville, CA). January - March.
1996 One Vision: Two Perspectives. Gallery 16 (San Francisco), January - February.
1995 Journey into the Interior: Photographs of Rural Life. Vision Gallery (San Francisco).
1994 Una Visión, Dos Perspectivas: La Fotografía de Jock McDonald (“One Vision, Two Perspectives: The Photography of Jock McDonald”); A Retrospective Exhibition 1984-1994.
Exconvento del Carmen (Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico). Co-produced by the Governor and Minister of Culture of the State of Jalisco, the US Consul General, the Embassy of Canada, and SAR, Ltd.
1994 Here and Now: Bay Area Masterworks from the di Rosa Collection, a featured artist. Oakland Museum (Oakland, CA).
Portraits by Jock McDonald. Academy of Art College (San Francisco).
1993 The Rurals: Kindred Faces of Country Life in Russia, Ukraine and Southern Illinois. Belcher Street Studios (San Francisco).
1991 Positive Negatives: Portraits of Courageous Russian and American Public Figures.
Fortress of Peter and Paul (Leningrad , USSR).
Positive Negatives: Portraits of Courageous Russian and American Public Figures.
Ukrainian Republic Social & Cultural Center (Kiev, Ukraine, USSR).
1989 Photographs by Jock McDonald. The Atrium Gallery, Joseph Lurie Company (San Francisco).
Positive Negatives. St. John’s College (Santa Fe, NM).
Visions in View, a nationwide Eastman Kodak tour. McDonald’s portraits were the only black-and-white photographs included.
1987 Comic Celebrity Portraits. San Francisco Suicide Prevention Benefit, San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center; De Young Museum (San Francisco).
1986 Photo-linen Portraits of California Artists. Fuller-Goldeen Gallery (San Francisco).
LECTURES AND AUTHORED ARTICLES
2016 The Idea Lounge, Art in Our Own Image, Petaluma, California
2009 The Beauty and Intention of Film, San Francisco California
2008 The Art of Seeing, Sonoma, California
2007 Casa Escorza "The Cultural Power of Photography”, Gaudalajara, Mexico
2007 di Rosa Preserve “Interpreting Perspective on Culture,” with Bernardo Huzo Gonzales & Sergei Samborski
2005 “How To Get There from Here”, City College of San Francisco, Concert and Lecture Series
2004 The Art of Farming, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA, USA
2004 Guest Artist, Master Class. California State University Summer Arts (Fresno)
2004 Teacher, Illustrative Portraiture, Fall 2003, Academy of Art (San Francisco)
2002 I’ve been there and there’s no there there. Oxbow School (Napa, CA)
Capitalism Versus Communism and the Spiritual Ramifications on the Artistic Temperament. Di Rosa Preserve (Napa, CA)
1997 A Model Approach to Shooting ‘Real People’ and getting Great Results. PHOTO ‘97 Conference at VISCOMM ‘97(Los Angeles); American Institute of Graphic Arts, Phoenix Chapter (Phoenix, AZ)
1994 A Model Approach to Shooting ‘Real People,’ and Getting Great Results. PHOTO Conference ‘94 at VISCOMM ‘94, Javits Center (NewYork City); PHOTO West ‘94 Conference at VISCOMM ‘94, Moscone Center (San Francisco)
1993 Journeys Into the Interior: Photographs of Rural Russians, Ukrainians and Americans. Saybrook Institute Graduate School & Research Center (San Francisco)
1993 A Model Approach to Shooting ‘Real People’ and Getting Great Results. PHOTO ‘94 Conference at VISCOMM ‘94, Javits Center (NewYork City); PHOTO West ‘94 Conference at VISCOMM West ‘94, Moscone Center (San Francisco)
1992 Russians, with Love. An article in San Francisco Chronicle’s “This World”
1992Lover of the Image. American Photographers Association seminars and courses: City College (San Francisco); the Academy of Art (San Francisco); and the Art Center College of Design (Switzerland)
COLLECTIONS
The di Rosa Art and Preserve, Napa, CA
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
University of California, San Louis Obisbo, CA
Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Museum of Photography, Fototeca, Havana Cuba
Stanford University Palo Alto, CA
UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco, CA.
Watershed Assets, San Francisco, CA.
Summit Trail Assets, San Francisco, CA.
Max and Franchesca Applegarth
Dr. Jordan and Caroline Shlain
Michelle and Kevin Douglas
Jim and Jean Douglas
John and Kary Chendo
Kirk and Katheran Citron
Nick and Margo Graham
Kevin and Meridee Moore
Barb Nieman
Albert and Kimberly Brooks