Jennifer Macdonald


Jennifer T. Macdonald is an American conceptual artist whose work explores the artifices and tropes used in the construction of language and meaning at the intersection of law, gender identity, sexual orientation and desire.
Macdonald, together with partner Hillary Leone, worked under the collaborative name of Leone and Macdonald for slightly over a decade in the 1990s. Within the group of self-identified LGBT artists working in the American art scene, a number of gay male collaborative teams had established renown during this period, but Leone & Macdonald were arguably the first American lesbian art duo to do likewise. Known for their visually seductive but often politically pointed pieces, Leone & Macdonald were also among the first women to address AIDS directly in their work.

Early life and career

Born in New York City, Jennifer Macdonald is the daughter of the American poet Cynthia Macdonald. Macdonald attended Brown University and graduated from The School of Visual Arts with honors before starting to collaborate with Leone in the late 1980s. Macdonald was an adjunct professor at Hunter College and a visiting professor at universities such as New York University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California at San Diego, Columbia University, and School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Leone & Macdonald are two-time National Endowments for the Arts grant recipients, three-time recipients, Penny McCall Foundation Grant and Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant recipients.

Exhibitions (selection)