David A. Douglas (artist)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the American Artist. For articles on other people named David A. Douglas or David Douglas or Dave Douglas, see David Douglas (disambiguation).
David Douglas has been creating art for over twenty-five years. He lives with his wife and three children at Episcopal High School, a boarding school in Alexandria , Virginia , where he teaches painting, drawing, and photography. He received his B.A. in painting from Virginia Intermont College in 1981 and his M.F.A. in painting from James Madison University in 1984.
His work has been exhibited since 1980 in major Washington galleries and reviewed favorably by The Washington Post and other local newspapers. Lee Fleming of The Washington Post wrote that his work represents, “a hyper-real universe where floors and walls radiate with jewel-like intensity and doors in rough industrial spaces give abruptly onto pastoral scenes.” Anne Behrens of The Washington Post noted, “His spatial compositions are visual feasts that lead the eye in and out of doors to observe strange scenes. Douglas ’ ability to portray people in imaginary spots and place them throughout interior and exterior environments creates a powerful collection of works.”
Marvin Tadlock, the chairman of the art department at Virginia Intermont College, commented, “I have never worked with anyone who could take a work so close to chaos, and then, with complete confidence, breathe renewed, fresh, and exciting life into it. David’s paintings are always fresh, vibrant, innovative – they go only where he knows to take them.”
In 1999, Douglas traveled to Spain for his first international exhibition.
He “creates a magical world,” said Jesus Mazariegos, critic for the El Notre de Castilla. “Everything moves between realistic and imaginary planes, reminding us of lives and dreams. His images convey the paradoxical emotions of sadness and optimism. Frequently, his interior spaces capture a magical time, often drawing on the light of a storm, or the beautiful light of dawn or twilight. This light has the patina of the memory he visually narrates. The content of the atmospheres created by Douglas are varied, but coherent. In the works of David Douglas there is a silent solidarity reminiscent of the work of Edward Hopper, and at times the relationships of objects and the spaces remind us of the magic of Magritte.”
In 2001, Douglas was included in “The ‘Pencil of Nature’ In Our Digital Age: Photo-imagery in Recent Art” at School 33, curated by Virginia Adams. This exhibition explores artists who are making art using photography not as a documentary tool, but in a variety of other ways. Mike Juliana writes in the Baltimore City Paper, “ One of the most interesting aspects of this group show is that some of its participants explore how we look for meaning within an image, as well as how that image connects to another. This is hardly a new pursuit, as one is reminded by looking at the digitally manipulated images that make up David Douglas’ ‘Drink Up.’ The repeated black-and-white shots of a water-filled glass evoke scientifically oriented studies. Similarly, the 19th- century photographer Eadweard Muybridge’s motion studies are recalled in Douglas ’ repeated shots of a running cat. What’s notable about the cat within the overall composition is that the shadow-casting presence is digitally controlled in way that would have been foreign to Muybridge’s point-and-shoot manner. Douglas ’ composition also includes a tile floor and other architectural spaces that are the result of digitally defined space (rather than “documentary”) space. One of the best recent exhibits at the School 33.”
Douglas was most recently included in “Art on the Digital Edge.” This show included works by Chuck Close, Jon Isherwood, Amy Lamb and William Newman. Organized by guest curator Susan Hamilton, the computer art-themed survey wisely features work that plays both into and against our expectations of art utilizing high-tech tools.
During the summer Douglas instructs art teachers on how and why technology can be an important part of any fine arts curriculum. This program, funded through a grant from the Ford Foundation, exposes teachers, many for the first time, to the endless possibilities of a digital lab integrated into the more traditional art environment.
In addition to teaching, David Douglas has been a member of the design team that developed the plans for the new $10 million arts facility at Episcopal High School. After years of planning, the fully integrated digital arts facility was opened in September 2003.
