About the Artist  

A graduate from Goddard College’s MFA program, David’s creative pursuits range from work in graphic design and new media, to experiments in painting and sculpture. He is an avid artist and design professional, and has taught fine art and multimedia courses in both workshop and college environments.

A senior-level graphic artist with extensive experience in the digital printing and book design, (see portfolio) David has worked in the various sectors of this industry for over 15 years.  In 2018 he founded Render, (renderpublications.com) a design and publication company dedicated to meeting the needs of small business and nonprofits. His current course offerings are run through the Book Arts & Design branch of Maine Media Workshops + College of Rockport. 

He is a an active visual artist in midcoast Maine, regularly showing his artwork in invitational group and solo exhibitions, including venues, such as: the CMCA, the Farnsworth Art Museum, University of Maine, Asymmetrick Arts, and Fort Knox. A prolific painter with an equal hand in sculpture and installations, human relations with the environment often serve as a point of departure in David’s work, and abandoned spaces and post-industrial detritus are frequently central elements. He was recognized in Maine Home and Design’s Annual Art Issues of 2017 and 2012. (press)

David lives in midcoast Maine with his wife, Ruth, and their two daughters, Elana and Izraelle. 

ARTIST STATEMENT
As an artist born, raised, and mostly educated in Maine, it is very easy to see the influence of Maine’s culture, industry, and beauty in my work. I have an inclination to value what others have discarded or left behind, and regard history as a renewable resource that should be utilized in making decisions for the future. Human relations with the environment often serve as a point of departure in my work, and abandoned spaces and post-industrial detritus are frequently central elements. I use what is there to make a mess a masterpiece, and believe that there is that which we inherit, and that which we invent.  As much of what we inherit is a mess: (politically, economically and culturally,) it is up to us to make improvements and aim for the most desirable result. This is the foundation upon which I base my actions in both art and life.

While I still consider myself more of a visual artist than a conceptual one, movements with which I strongly identify are those that are fairly irreverent of the individual artist and work towards the deconstruction of art.  The DaDa and Fluxist movements and the Happening scene are among them. These efforts lend more weight to the processes and experiments themselves, than to tangible objects or products. Similarly, I identify with the Art/Life inquiry and the questions it raises about our assumptions and pretensions in the arts. I regard my greatest life-long pursuit as the endeavor to refine the art of living, a practice that can only be had by waking up each morning and engaging in the activities of everyday experience in a fully conscious and intentional way.

I see Art as being many different things for many different people. I am an advocate for Pluralism and an environment in which many different methods, approaches, and ways of understanding Art are nurtured in coexistence. I am not so much concerned with what Art is, per se, but rather the potential for dialogue surrounding it. And I feel that it is through this dialogue that we can establish a pathway for empathy and mutual understanding, a pathway that has the potential to enrich the fabric of our everyday lives, and perhaps even lead toward a more desirable coexistence and deeper sense of humanity.