Within the arms of Reverend Joyce McDonald, clay turns into testimony. McDonald fashions small-scale figures of Black folks whose presence and poise convey the quiet labors of affection. Ministry, the artist’s present survey on the Bronx Museum, pays homage to this intimate care. Practically 80 sculptures are assembled on tiered white pedestals organized like altars. The show creates a visible litany; every determine is distinct but a part of a collective rhythm of reverence that unfolds by way of the gallery. Each work is minute sufficient to cradle in two arms but radiates a monumental religious grace.
McDonald started making these items in 1997 by way of an artwork remedy program that helped her course of her HIV prognosis, remodeling that have right into a lifelong religious and inventive observe. As an ordained minister and advocate by way of Visible AIDS, she channels religion and care into clay, shaping a ministry of resilience and love.
Joyce McDonald, “Peace” (2004), clay, wooden body, canvas board, African textiles, Mod Podge, and material paint (picture Alexandra M. Thomas/Hyperallergic)
Upon coming into the exhibition, viewers encounter “Peace” (2004): a gold face nestled in African material, framed by an analogous print and mounted on the wall. The folds of the fabric recommend each a head wrap and a halo, accentuating the sacred aura of the determine seemingly suspended in peaceable repose.
Sitting atop an altar, “Mothers Prayers” (1999) and “Glory (A Taste of Sweetness)” (2001) seem like in silent dialog. On the decrease step, an older, silver-haired girl sporting a pink gown kneels in prayer with closed eyes. Above her, a younger woman in a purple gown prays in an analogous place, however her head faces skyward, her eyes open and her lengthy darkish hair cascading again. The position of figures on completely different ranges deepens a way of intergenerational dialogue, linking their gestures of religion throughout house and time.
Persevering with by way of the set up, “Sweet Peace” (2007) depicts a hooded girl veiled in gold material that swimming pools thickly at her clavicle like solid steel. Throughout these works, McDonald makes use of acrylic paint, material, and even paper towels to dress and adorn her topics. On this approach, she transforms on a regular basis discovered media into sacred collectible figurines. Equally, “Covered with Love” (2003) reimagines the “Madonna and Child” in clay and material — the work portrays a Black mom and toddler nestled collectively in a young embrace. The theme of familial closeness extends into “The McDonalds” (1998), a sculpted portrait of the artist’s family, during which 4 youngsters sit pressed along with their mother and father atop a piano.
Set up view of Ministry: Reverend Joyce McDonald on the Bronx Museum, with “Mothers Prayers” (1999), acrylic, Mod Podge, paper towel, and material on air-dry clay; “Glory (A Taste of Sweetness)” (2001), Wite-out, paper towels, acrylic on terracotta air-dry clay (picture Alexandra M. Thomas/Hyperallergic)
A shocking scene of vulnerability and intimacy, “The Draping of Compassion” (1999), exhibits three girls in white clothes: two bend ahead in an arch, cradling a 3rd who lies susceptible throughout their laps. The composition types an structure of care — the ladies’s our bodies serving as each help and shelter.
Most of the statuettes painting unnamed Black figures performing common gestures of care, devotion, and relaxation. Others reply extra on to the urgencies of our time: “Prayer Changes Things” (2020) exhibits a worshipper sporting a surgical masks, evoking the continuing COVID-19 disaster, whereas “Colin Kaepernick” (2020) is among the many present’s most explicitly political works, because the activist-athlete bends down on one knee in uniform. The pose remembers his act of kneeling throughout the nationwide anthem earlier than a 2016 NFL sport to protest police brutality and racism within the US. The bodily assertion provoked skilled retaliation however galvanized the motion for Black lives throughout skilled sports activities and past.
Collectively, the tiers rise like a congregation in clay, the place repeated actions — kneeling, clasped arms, veiled heads — change into a refrain of religion. McDonald describes herself as a “testimonial artist,” somebody who bears witness and represents the sacred as she and her neighborhood expertise it. By way of her major medium, she captures moments of care and kinship that channel the deep bonds that Black folks share with the divine and one another.
Joyce McDonald, “Covered with Love” (2003), acrylic and material on air-dry clay (picture Alexandra M. Thomas/Hyperallergic)
Set up view of Ministry: Reverend Joyce McDonald on the Bronx Museum (picture by Argenis Apolinario, 2025, courtesy the Bronx Museum)
Joyce McDonald, “Sweet Peace” (2007), acrylic, Mod Podge, and material on air-dry clay (picture Alexandra M. Thomas/Hyperallergic)
Joyce McDonald, “The Draping of Compassion” (1999), acrylic, Mod Podge, and paper towel on air-dry clay (picture Alexandra M. Thomas/Hyperallergic)
Joyce McDonald, “Colin Kaepernick” (2020), acrylic, Wite-Out, varnish, and nail polish on air-dry clay (picture Alexandra M. Thomas/Hyperallergic)
Set up view of Ministry: Reverend Joyce McDonald on the Bronx Museum (picture by Argenis Apolinario, 2025, courtesy the Bronx Museum)
Joyce McDonald, “The McDonalds” (1999), acrylic on air-dry clay and located objects (picture Alexandra M. Thomas/Hyperallergic)
Set up view of Ministry: Reverend Joyce McDonald on the Bronx Museum (picture by Argenis Apolinario, 2025, courtesy the Bronx Museum)
Ministry: Reverend Joyce McDonald continues on the Bronx Museum of the Arts (1040 Grand Concourse, Concourse Village, The Bronx) by way of January 11, 2026. The exhibition was curated by Kyle Croft, govt director of Visible AIDS.
