David Sheldon
Heaven Interrupted, 72 x 60 inches, Oil on canvas, 2023
Tiger Hunt (after Rubens) detail, 62 x 72 inches, Oil on canvas, 2022
David Sheldon lives and works in Asheville, North Carolina. A multi-disciplined artist, his work has evolved over the years as both a painter and a sculptor. Regarding painting, Sheldon's new 'anthropological abstracts' are a return to an approach started over thirty years ago. He prefers to work large, as this invites him to bring his whole body into the metaphysical event: the act of painting. Spiritual, psychological, it becomes an exploration into the subconscious: brutal, beautiful, ferocious, and mysterious...a cry into the Void, bringing forth beings, half-beings, different dimensions and states of being. The key is remaining impartial to all manifestations. Being 'witness' to his inner-self without judgement. A sort of 'seance in paint'.
As happens, the influence of Art History is latent and strong with Sheldon, and informs the approach to canvas as formal object, and the paint as a visceral medium, having its own voice and input into the process. The depiction of spiritual meaning and truth, as depicted over the epochs of Art History is deeply ingrained in Sheldon's subconscious, as well, and serve as both impetus for exploration and reservoir for approach and understanding. It's an approach that attempts to merge the aesthetics and spirituality of the old masters, with the aesthetics, vibrancy, and philosophies of contemporary art.
Sheldon received a BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1984. His time at RISD included a formative year spent painting in Rome, Italy, as part of RISD’s European Honors Program. As a grad student, he brought sculpture into the mix. His thesis show for his MFA in 1990 at the University of Maryland incorporated large-scale, mixed-media paintings, as well as sculptural works. Mentors included internationally acclaimed sculptor, Anne Truitt, and monumental sculptor James Sanborn. Sheldon worked as an assistant to Sanborn on 'Kryptos' , installed at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, 1990. Sheldon continues to create cutting-edge sculptural works in metal, as well as provocative public art. Modernist sculpture, with its emphasis on the dynamics of form and space, continues to be a major influence in his work.
www.sheldonstudioworks.com @dqsheldon @dqsheldonpainting Artsy
Pastoral Concert (After Titian), 48 x 60 inches, Oil on canvas, 2022
