David Dornan often paints paint. He is best-known for works that feature common studio items dripping with evidence of use—even those Tabasco bottles and honey bears were once employed to achieve some effect Dornan was exploring at the time.
On the surface his paintings appear straightforward, so we make assumptions. Paintings like Greedy Bees are likely assemblages of objects that Dornan painted from life. Actually, Dornan rarely arranges his subjects into a composition for reference like many still life artists do—they are so familiar he organizes them in his mind and paints them from memory.
Greedy Bees, oil, 40 x 32 in.
Maybe we look at Chair Portrait and think, “Oh, an interior of the artist’s studio.” Here things get more complex. The scene on the canvas—a portrait of a chair in progress within a portrait of an artist’s workspace—never existed in reality.
“It was never set up,” explains Dornan. “It’s real-looking but it’s fictional—like writing about something that never occurred. I just know light theory and basic forms, and all the plastic elements of painting so well that I can create the visual equivalent.
Grumpy Grey, mixed media sculpture, 20 x 10 x 6 in.
“My paintings are a real world to me but many of the objects don’t exist…I’m more interested in the visceral reality of objects than the objects themselves,” he continues, adding that he started painting them as an excuse to throw energy and paint around. Dornan also loves old, discarded things and his studio is chock-full of them. And he finds he can connect with more people through realism than pure abstraction. It is accessible, making it the perfect vehicle to bring attention to the true subject of his work: his abstract and ever-experimental mark-making.
“I really wanted to become the Dexter of paint splashes,” say Dornan. “People think that the appearance of objects is very, very important but equally important is how they are created. The magic of painting and drawing things isn’t so important to me now. My interest is giving people the same experience that I feel. I live in my studio, and my recent paintings are conglomerates of my memories of studios and experiences I’ve had. It’s my way of bringing people into my studio and saying, ‘Hey, take a look at the artist thinking, not just the final appearance.’”
Chair Portrait, oil, 32 x 36 in.
In one new series, Dornan has ventured into the realm of mixed-media sculptures. The oil paint tubes, playfully themed and painted accordingly, were initially inspired by the creative, often over-the-top names of Benjamin Moore paint colors. He fabricated the tubes—which are almost 2 feet tall—out of raw metal which he cut, shaped and welded into the body. The paint oozing out is hardened water putty. (Snow White and Grumpy aside, the fact that the exuding gobs of paint are different colors might have tipped you off that this isn’t your ordinary tube of paint.
Snow White, mixed media sculpture, 20 x 10 x 6 in.
Dornan’s new paintings are the subject of Vintage/Modern, an exhibition at Meyer Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from June 12 to June 25. A reception will be held opening day, from 4 to 6 p.m.
“What has always been interesting about David Dornan’s work is how his subject matter is discovered,” says gallery manager Brad Sutor. “He can start with ordinary studio subjects, but the final works are both still life and abstract. Then there are paintings within the paintings and subjects within the subjects. This exhibition has that same sense of fluidity and is always a blast of great color.” —
Meyer Gallery 225 Canyon Road • Santa Fe, NM 87501 • (505) 983-1434 • www.meyergalleries.com
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