David Michael Slonim "Fragment of Song" November 2019

DAVID MIC HAEL SLONIM

1

2

November 11–23, 2019 Scottsdale Artist Reception | Thursday, November 21 | 6:30–9:00pm

DAVID MIC HAEL SLONIM Fragment of Song

Jackson Hole | Scottsdale | AltamiraArt.com

3

Man Reading Oil | 48 x 36 inches Enquire

4

5

Fragment of Song What if?

David Michael Slonim continually asks himself this question as he explores the potential intrinsic to each of his paintings. He considers every move he makes regarding palette, form and composition.

What if I combine only these two colors? What if I limit the piece to just one value? What if I follow this line to its terminus?

“When I’m doing it well, painting is an exploration of a question,” he says. “I think I’m learning to ask good questions.”

His new body of work grew from a trio of inquisitive tracks, exploring color blocks, one-liners and jumbles. The first grew from feeling under the weather: choosing to stay at home rather than commute to his studio, he spent two hours doing color studies at his kitchen table. The core question of this sick-day foray: “What if I reduce a painting to the simple pleasure of seeing one color

6

against another—no place to hide?” Color haikus ensued—spare, simple, enticing.

Further improvisations followed. The jumbles and one-liners stemmed from similarly spontaneous yet resolute expressions: doodles done in ink on small pieces of paper, refined in subsequent drafts working out the spacing and silhouette of the shapes. Once unified, he projects the drawing on a canvas, and color choices follow. “The bones are pleasing before any color comes in,” he says. The result of such editing: a harmonious composition like The Whole Shebang.

“My goal is to figure out how little I can say and still find it compelling and moving. Can I make something that I want to live with and remains intriguing after multiple viewings?”

After establishing parameters for himself,

Slonim roves across the set terrain. Much like a child with a paintbrush and pots, adding this color to that, putting this shape here and another there. Patiently, he allows his experiments to come into focus. Clarity rises, a distillation of forms and feeling. Deepseated inspirations surface like memories of stained glass windows, kites and cartoons; or his study and appreciation of masters like Picasso, Calder and Miro.

Through these structured yet improvisational abstractions, Slonim reaches for both the playful and the spiritual. “The act of painting is inherently optimistic—a refusal to believe life is chaotic and meaningless,” he says. “If harmony and order can exist on a canvas, then perhaps harmony can exist in all our relationships, which means a good painting points toward hope.”

7

Figure in Repose Oil | 30 x 40 inches Enquire

8

9

Candy Shop Oil on canvas | 30 x 24 inches Enquire

10

11

Spring Fed Oil on linen | 36 x 48 inches Enquire

12

13

Bright Point Oil on paper | 16 x 20 inches Enquire

14

Bird Lady Oil | 30 x 30 inches Enquire

15

The Whole Shebang Oil on canvas | 48 x 36 inches Enquire

16

17

Pirate Moon Oil on canvas | 48 x 60 inches Enquire

18

19

Bandstand Oil | 30 x 30 inches Enquire

20

Woodsy Oil on paper | 16 x 20 inches Enquire

21

Fragment of Song Oil on linen | 60 x 48 inches Enquire

22

23

Desert Dream Oil on paper | 16 x 20 inches Enquire

24

Golden Road Oil on canvas | 30 x 24 inches Enquire

25

Woman with Dog Oil on canvas | 40 x 30 inches Enquire

26

27

Wavelength Oil on canvas | 60 x 48 inches Enquire

28

29

Blue, Gray, Black Oil on linen | 48 x 36 inches Enquire

30

31

Hyperion Oil on canvas | 72 x 60 inches Enquire

32

33

7038 E Main Street | Scottsdale, Arizona 85251 AltamiraArt.com | 480-949-1256

34