Alexander/Heath Contemporary
is pleased to announce
an exhibition by Mixed Media Artist
David Underwood
“Perception”
April 7 through April 28, 2023
OPENING RECEPTION:
Art-by-Night Friday, April 7th, 2023, 5-9 pm
CLOSING RECEPTION:
Art-by-Night Friday, April 28th, 2023, 6-8 pm
Artist will be at the gallery for both events.
David Underwood’s opening reception on April 7th.
David Underwood
About the Artist:
This exhibition at Alexander/Heath Contemporary is David Underwood’s 33rd solo exhibition. His work is included in the permanent collections of 16 art museums, including the Columbus Museum of Art, the Cincinnati Art Museum, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. His work has also been included in more than 125 group exhibitions around America and Europe. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Underwood is a Professor of Art, the Director of Exhibitions, and a former Art Department Chairperson at Carson-Newman University, in East Tennessee, where he has been teaching Art and Photography since 1990, the same year he earned his MFA in Studio Art from Florida State University. He and his poet/writer wife, Susan O’Dell Underwood (also a professor at Carson-Newman University), have visited and photographed in 49 states and more than 150 national parks and monuments in the USA. Susan’s debut novel, GENESIS ROAD, published in 2022, was partially inspired by their travels together.
Artist’s Statement:
My current series of mixed-media, Image/Text artworks are intended to invite open interpretations of meaning from each individual viewer. Each artwork’s title is included as actual readable text within the artwork itself, leading the viewer to infer content in guided, yet also in somewhat intentionally ambiguous paths. This text is imbedded within assemblages of my own original photography, along with abstract painting or drawing, various grids, collage materials, or other embellishments. These component photographs and images are not intended to be literal illustrations of the text, but rather are intended as auxiliary gateways to personal interpretations for the viewer. The title of this exhibition comes from the title of one of my recently made artworks, and the concept that perception is key to our understanding and engagement with the world around us.
The works shown here in this exhibition are made in various rectangles, most often in a square. Sometimes I fill the given rectangle edge-to-edge with photographs, and sometimes the images and text are applied to painted and drawn backgrounds reminiscent of post-minimalist color field painting. I most often combine photographs made many miles and perhaps many years apart, and the reasons for the combinations and juxtapositions are driven by both potential content and the aesthetics of formal qualities. I apply text into the artworks by a variety of methods, most often lately by using individual rubber stamps with permanent inks. Even though I don’t mind driving staples or nails through my component photographs and drawings, all my materials are as archival as possible, and the works on wood are finished with several layers of UV-absorbing clear varnishes.
— David Underwood, 2023.
More about David Underwood:
Website | CV
The exhibition is on display through April 28th.
Access is available during special exhibition hours or by appointment only:
Contact Ed Hettig:
hettig@alexander-heath.com or call 607.226.2473.