Altamira Fine Art is bringing Douglas Fryer and David Dornan together for a joint showing of paintings by two very different, but equally skillful Utah artists. The exhibition is on view now through October 6.
Douglas Fryer, Hilltop, oil on canvas, 50 x 60 in.
Fryer is known for his moody, subtly abstracted landscape, still life and figurative paintings that invite contemplation and reflection. He believes that “art is in the process and result of organizing elements for the purpose of stimulating the senses, emotions and thoughts of both the creator and the viewer of the work. Works of art are evidence of the artist’s effort to experience and comprehend the world and to observe particular nuances in visual, conceptual and spiritual information.” On the other hand, Dornan is recognized for remarkable still life paintings of familiar objects rendered so realistically one would never guess the imagination and craftsmanship at work behind them.
David Dornan, Let’er Buck, oil on canvas, 40 x 45 in.
Altamira Fine Art owner Jason Williams comments, “Utah has become one of the most interesting incubators for contemporary artists in the West, and I don’t think that happens by accident. The state’s universities have built an unusually strong culture around studio art, one where accomplished working artists are also deeply invested in teaching and developing the next generation. Douglas Fryer and David Dornan have both been important leaders within that tradition. Their own work could hardly be more distinct: Doug reduces the landscape toward atmosphere, memory and abstraction, while David builds these incredibly layered worlds where objects, imagery and the physical act of painting all collide. Yet both demonstrate the same seriousness about craft, experimentation and finding an individual voice. That philosophy carries into the artists they’ve taught and influenced. This exhibition is an opportunity to celebrate two exceptional painters, but it also speaks to something larger: the remarkable artistic ecosystem that Utah’s higher-education institutions have helped create, and the influence that ecosystem continues to have on contemporary Western and American art.” —
Altamira Fine Art 172 Center Street, Suite 100 • Jackson, WY 83001 • (307) 739-4700 • www.altamiraart.com
Powered by Froala Editor
