Dissonance V is one of a series of paintings in which Rachel McDonnell uses the simplest of two dimensional shapes - circles on a rectangular background - to create an experience of three dimensionality, and of movement.

Rachel has made several simple choices, a subtle colour palette and arrangements of circles, to create a work that is greater than the sum of its parts. A physical reaction is evoked in the viewer as repeated circles slide past one another in a glittering haze. 

"I used to make work which was very precise, but motherhood prompted a change in technique, everything became looser and more experimental - in short, I went dotty".

Accolades

Rachel McDonnell completed a fine art foundation course at City & Guilds of London Art School, after which she went to St Anne’s College, Oxford to study Politics, Philosophy and Economics, where she won a scholarship. She has exhibited widely, including many times at the Royal West of England Academy, where she is an artist network member, at the Royal Academy’s summer exhibition, and the National Open Art Competition, where she won the Be Smart About Art Award. She has also been shortlisted for many prizes, including the Wells Art Contemporary, BEEP Painting Prize, Sunny Art Prize, Bath Art Prize and Derwent Art Prize.