David Grossmann "In Motion" August 2019

DAVID GRO S SMANN

August 20 – 31, 2019 Jackson Hole

DAVID GRO S SMANN In Motion

Jackson Hole | Scottsdale | AltamiraArt.com

1

Forest Edge in Early Autumn Oil on linen panel | 24 x 18 inches Enquire

2

3

David Grossman David Grossmann more than rises to the challenge of capturing nature’s dynamism in two dimensions. He transcends it. By his brush, the impossibility of rendering motion through a static painting becomes profoundly possible and eminently effective.

4

Consider In Motion, a large work whose style coalesces the theme of his new paintings at Altamira Fine Art. A cottonwood tree aglow in autumn colors stands counterpoint to swirling cross-currents of leaves with clouds, birds, and a river coursing through the background. Immersing himself in the momentary marvel of such movement, Grossmann allows the painting to achieve an equilibrium between effort and acquiescence. “I felt myself drawn in and held in the flowing patterns that emerged in the painting,” he says. “The painting became more and more dynamic as I sought to convey the fleeting beauty and the constant motion of life.”

Despite all of its steady shifting, nature also models stillness—a dualism Grossmann captures in his compositions.

As much as the seasons and light continually change, core elements

endure: the wonder of the first snowfall or the regeneration of spring after winter. “These paintings revolve around ideas of transition, seasons, and brevity,” the artist says. “They stem from inspirations that are always in motion, and in all of this letting go and holding on there is the hope of inner stillness and the renewal that comes with every breath and every sunrise.”

This balance—resolved and rendered— radiates from his paintings and serve as reminders of enriching experiences in nature. A collector and biologist noticed this quality and remarked, “When I see these paintings I feel strong vibrations, like at the best moments of my pure perception of nature, other people, music or myself. In everyday life, sometimes it is hard to save oneself.

But pictures help to return to yourself, to feel delicacy and beauty inside.”

5

Trees in Winter Morning Light Oil on linen panel | 20 x 34 inches Enquire

6

7

Bright September Aspen with First Snow Oil on linen panel | 10 x 8 inches Enquire

8

Rainy Day Pasture Oil on linen panel | 10 x 8 inches Enquire

9

In Motion This painting became more and more dynamic as I sought to convey a sense of fleeting beauty and constant change. I felt myself drawn in and held by the rushing patterns that emerged as I painted the autumn colors, falling leaves, swirling clouds, flowing river and flying birds - everything in motion and teeming with life.

Oil on linen panel | 40 x 60 inches Enquire

10

11

Grand Teton with Pastel Sunset Oil on linen panel | 40 x 30 inches Enquire

12

13

Aspen Trunk Patterns on Snow and Sky Oil on linen panel | 7 x 12 inches Early Spring in Buena Vista Oil on linen panel | 7 x 12 inches Enquire

14

Bright Aspen Leaves in Morning Light Oil on panel | 12 x 7 inches Enquire

15

Mt. Moran Through Rain On one of my trips to paint the Tetons, rainy weather kept obscuring the view of Mount Moran that I wanted to capture. The rain became so heavy that I retreated into my car where I painted a sketch as I squinted out at the view, windshield wipers keeping the blur of the rain at bay. A couple of years later I found the sketch in my studio and decided to elaborate on the veiled sense of looking out at the contours of the mountains through the passing rain.

Oil on linen panel | 30 x 40 inches Enquire

16

17

October Flights Oil on linen panel | 24 x 18 inches Enquire

18

19

Yellow Trees in Autumn Meadows Oil on linen panel | 12 x 7 inches Enquire

20

Lines on Snow Oil on linen panel | 12 x 7 inches Enquire

21

Hill Patters, Early September Oil on linen panel | 18 x 24 inches Enquire

22

23

Stained Glass Sky Evening inside of a winter forest is like the hush of a cathedral; the colors of dusk filter in fragments through bare branches as the sky breaks into patterns of stained glass windows Oil on linen panel | 60 x 40 inches Enquire

24

25

Two Deer with Green Sky Oil on linen panel | 34 x 20 inches Enquire

26

27

Yellow Aspen Patterns When autumn comes to the aspen groves, the leaves seem to hover in layer after layer of radiant dots suspended across silver trunks, waiting for the slightest breeze to send them on their path to cover the ground in gold. There is a sense of expectation that flows through the forest along with the passage of falling leaves.

Oil on linen panel | 30 x 50 inches Enquire

28

29

Summer Aspen Forest with Flowers Oil on canvas | 7 x 12 inches First Trace of Autumn Color Oil on linen panel | 7 x 12 inches Enquire

30

Three Small Winter Pines Oil on linen panel | 12 x 7 inches Enquire

31

Winter Horizon with Flying Birds The view from my studio windows is a constant source of inspiration as I watch the changes in light and weather and see the patterns of birds making their way across the sky. On a winter day enclosed by clouds I looked out of the windows to where the lines of earth and sky immediately conjured this minimal, textured composition of stillness and motion.

Oil on linen panel | 24 x 18 inches Enquire

32

33

View Through Summer Aspen Grove Oil on linen panel | 8 x 10 inches Enquire

34

Early October Colors Oil on linen panel | 24 x 18 inches Enquire

35

Glowing Golden Sky Embracing simplicity reminds me that what I leave out is just as important as what I include. How much can I simplify and still have a composition that feels intact? In this painting, the openness of the composition allowed me to more deeply explore color and texture as I tried to preserve the feeling of being lifted along the edge of the golden sky.

Oil on linen panel | 30 x 40 inches Enquire

36

37

Flowing Spaces The idea for this painting came from watching ravens flying over golden fields of late autumn grass. I echoed the motion of their flight through the patterns of the dark sky and the sense of wind through the fields, all of these flowing spaces divided by the line of the brighter horizon.

Oil on linen panel | 30 x 50 inches Enquire

38

39

Two Deer with Yellow Sky Oil on linen panel | 34 x 20 inches Enquire

40

41

Morning Sky Transitions As I watch the moon at sunrise I am caught up into the space between the sky and the earth, between the ending night and the coming day. This feeling is what I hope to capture in so many of my paintings as I try to express moments that catch the sense of time passing, moments that vividly remind me of the beautiful flow of life.

Oil on linen panel | 34 x 20 inches Enquire

42

43

Autumn’s Gold Oil on linen panel | 60 x 40 inches Enquire

44

45

Fallen Leaf Patterns with Solitary Deer When I am out painting in the woods I often see deer. Sometimes I sense them more than see them because they are so quiet, revealing themselves through the trees like shadows as they curiously watch me. In my paintings I include them to mirror the quietly connected mystery of the forest, the sense of being inside of something that is observing and embracing me into itself.

Oil on linen panel | 30 x 40 inches Enquire

46

47

Grand Teton with Bright Sunset Oil on linen panel | 50 x 30 inches Enquire

48

49

172 Center Street | Jackson, Wyoming 83001 AltamiraArt.com | 307-739-4700