Elder Gallery
presents

David Skinner
Solo Exhibition

During the month of September Elder Gallery in Charlotte’s Historic SouthEnd Arts District will present California artist, David Skinner, in his first solo exhibition on the east coast.

Skinner’s contemporary images of the California and Blue Ridge landscapes are derived from his deep respect for the legacy of the California plein air painters and their noble portrayals of light and terrain. He boldly defines his personal style within the genre by pushing the boundaries of color and composition, drawing upon the integrated traditions of the Bay Area Figurative and Abstract Expressionist movements. His work showcases his affinity for the light, space, and radiance of the landscape, his style signifying an integral understanding of the New York and San Francisco schools of Rothko and Diebenkorn.

In 1995, after nine months in India and Sri Lanka, Skinner returned to New York and saw nothing but gray. He knew it was time to head back home to California and its particular qualities of light. “A transition occurred on that cross-country voyage, both physically and emotionally. As the land opened up and the sky overhead became more vast and brilliant, I understood what I had been deprived of in the dense confines of New York City” says Skinner.

Skinner’s brushwork is loose yet representational with several layers of paint applied closely to and interacting with the canvas. Transient colors and edges suggest a leaning towards transcendentalism; renderings favor intuitive usage of color and perspective over straight objectivity.

The artist interprets the relationship of natural light with the land through a lens of diverse shades and tones. Vast, soothing color fields punctuated with daring, bold elements of flora are quintessential characteristics of Skinner's unique vision.

Skinner's fine art training includes the University of California at Santa Barbara and the Master of Fine Arts program at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.

Southern California art critic, Dr. Roberta Carasso, has written of Skinner’s work and states that "After loading the surface with color, achieved by multiple layers of underpainting, the artist envisions the emergence of a landscape. Then, with sure brushstrokes, Skinner defines the image, orchestrates colors and surfaces above and below, and weaves them into the final canvas where color from underpainting comes through, endowing each poetic canvas with bucolic energy."

An artist reception will open the exhibition on September 5. The exhibition will run through September 30, 2008.

Scroll down to view partial list of painting in exhibition.