| PRESS
RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 6-OCTOBER 6, 2003
K.C.
DAVIS
DOORWAYS
OPENING
RECEPTION:
SATURDAY | SEPTEMBER
13, 2003 | 7-9
PM
New
York, NY
- Gallery@49 is pleased to announce the opening
of KC Davis’ first New York solo exhibition,
opening on September 6, 2003. Entitled “Doorways”
the show will present a selection of recent
oil paintings on old interior and barn doors,
as well as a few examples from Davis’
earlier work on canvas and paper.
KC
Davis is an emerging artist who has only recently
begun to exhibit. Semi-retired from a flourishing
dental practice to devote himself to his art,
he has had several shows in the Northeast and
has won numerous local awards.
Davis
has had no formal art training, and his confident
brushwork displays his freedom from the restraints
of the academy. But while his paintings stand
squarely in the American folk tradition, they
are far from naïf. His technique reveals
a secure command of his medium and a clearly
defined personal aesthetic. Although his subject
matter ranges from horses and cows to European
city scenes, from New England village streets
to abandoned railroad cars, his controlled spontaneity
and sure sense of design provide a unifying
note to his work.
It
was by chance that Dr. Davis, in restoring a
country property, discovered a collection of
old barn doors. Intrigued by the texture of
their surface and the effect of the peeling
paint that remained on them, he began applying
his own imagery to these objets trouvés
in bold, sweeping brushstrokes, exploiting the
unique quality of the wood itself and artfully
utilizing the dramatic horizontal or vertical
linearity of these aged planks in his compositions.
The
grain of the wood in such paintings as Tuscan
Afternoon, clearly visible through
the paint, gives them the appearance of woodcuts
without diminishing their painterly quality.
The patterned seams between the boards give
some of the paintings the stately look of polyptychs,
contributing to the dynamic of the images as
integral elements of their design. Decorative
panels, knots, and random scars of age provide
a complementary pattern that adds a further
dimension to the subjects in many of these pieces.
In some, the portal hardware is retained, challenging
the viewer to incorporate hinges and doorknobs
into the context.
It was a happy coincidence that Dr. Davis found
antique doors as the substrate of his visual
work; their original function provides an irresistible
metaphor for the entry into the artist's world
that all art ideally affords.
This
first major showing in New York City of Dr.
Davis's paintings on doors will run from September
6 through October 6, 2003 at Gallery@49.
Gallery@49
is located at 322 West 49th Street (between
8th and 9th Ave.) Gallery@49
can be reached by subways E, C to 50th St. or
N, R to 49th St. Gallery
Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 12- 6 pm.
For additional information or visual material
please call (212) 767-0855
or e-mail: info@gallery49.com
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