I love back alleys where dumpsters live next to broken chairs and crooked signs. Mechanical and electrical equipment throw shadows on walls in random patterns, and power lines crisscross from one building to another. Obsolete cables drip down the back of buildings. And all of this is covered in graffiti. It’s in the alley I find the substrate for my work.
As an architect, Donald Billinkoff is fascinated by the textural and visual richness of the city. The recurring themes in his art are architectural, urban and graphic. His work weaves together images of graffiti, scarred pavement, peeling paint, kinetic signage, mechanical assemblies, rusted cars and dumpsters.
Over the past several years his work has evolved from hands-on paper collage and transfer prints to photography and digital manipulation of images. In his recent work he uses extraction, layering, changing colors, enlarging, minimizing and combining images to produce work that is at once both bold and nuanced.
Most of Donald’s photographs are taken on an iPhone. In addition, typical office technology including Photoshop, CADD, high resolution and large format printers and scanners are intrinsic elements of his process. He custom prints each piece on textured 285gsm archival quality watercolor paper. His prints are in 35-inch or 42-inch square format.
Donald grew up in Winnipeg, Canada. From early childhood he aspired to be an architect. He earned both an undergraduate degree in Urban Studies and a graduate degree in Environmental Studies at York University in Toronto. Following that he moved to Los Angeles where he obtained a graduate degree in Architecture at UCLA. It was while living in LA that he became fascinated with the ubiquitous kitschy roadside architecture of the early and mid 20th century. Many of the photos he took while living there are now incorporated in his current work.
In 1991 Donald established his own architecture firm on the upper westside of Manhattan. He has studied art at the Arts Students League in NY, but he is primarily self-taught. A show of his work was installed at the Masters Gallery in NY in 2020.
In addition to Toronto, Los Angeles and Manhattan, Donald has lived in Bucks County, PA, Litchfield County, CT, and Brooklyn. In 2020, Donald moved to Atlanta where he designed a new contemporary home with a 2-story light-filled studio where he works full time as an artist.
Purchase inquiries are welcome.
Contact
Email: dbillinkoff@billinkoff.com