Life is mysterious. It’s never just about what’s on the surface. Underneath, it has a beautiful complexity and meaning that we can only begin to guess at. My mission is to try and reveal some small detail that may just open a door so others can explore that world.
----------------------------------------
I grew up in a family of artists which colored my perception of art from an early age. I quickly learned to appreciate both representational and abstract forms of art as equally valid methods of expression. I've always been strongly opinionated that photography be considered a perfectly valid form of fine art, depending, of course, on the particular work. As I've grown older, I have developed a stronger personal bias toward abstraction and surrealism.
My 50 year obsession with photography began with an introductory class at UNM in 1971 under Paige Pinnell and I’ve been actively producing photographs ever since, having also studied with Wayne Lazorik and Betty Hahn. However, as I have always been pulled in the two different directions of art and technology, I eventually chose to pursue a career in electronics while continuing to make art to feed my creative side. Now retired, I feel quite fortunate to still be able to still enjoy viewing, exploring, and making new art. Some of my personal favorite photographic artists include: Man Ray, Ralph Gibson, Olivia Parker, Jan Groover, Frantisek Drtikol, and Jaroslav Rossler. However, I’m also strongly attracted to work of the surrealist painters from decades past - notably Magritte, Miro, Dali, De Chirico, and most recently Leonora Carrington, Kay Sage, and Dorothea Tanning.
For nearly 30 years I made traditional Black and White Silver Gelatin prints in a wet darkroom. The last 10 years of that period, I often hand applied oil-paint over the prints and made some other types of alternative process prints. After this I began the transition into digital media. My first public showing was in 1991 and after winning a competition a few years later, I had my first solo show in NYC. In 1995 I won the Willard Van Dyke Photography award and had my second solo show at the Megan Fox gallery in Santa Fe. Around 2004, I dismantled my (fifth) studio darkroom and since have worked in a digital studio in my home. For a time, I rented space in a local wet darkroom and produced some digitally sourced silver prints so I could hand-color them the old-fashioned way. I have since focused on mostly digital media but I do miss the therapeutic process of painting with photo-oils.
Most recently, I often start new work by cutting primary forms from paper, arranging them into collage compositions, then combining the re-photographed images with other images stored in the computer. Thus, my subject matter is now most often non-objective/abstract/surreal imagery constructed in a studio setting. Various themes are described on David's Gallery page.
My work is held by The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, The New Mexico Museum of Art, The Capitol building in Santa Fe, The City of Albuquerque, and many private collectors. I continue to exhibit in Albuquerque and regularly participate in national juried exhibitions with noted curators or a distinguished juror.
3/8/23