2 minute read
The Works: David Summers
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Bright explorations
By Sarah Sargent arts@c-ville.com
ARenaissance man as well as a Renaissance scholar, David Summers uses his vast knowledge to explore light physically and from a philosophical standpoint. “David Summers: Nothing but Light” at Les Yeux du Monde examines the artist’s continued preoccupation with the visual topic that has been at the center of his artistic output for decades.
“There’s one thing I should tell you about the paintings,” says Summers, pausing for effect. “You’re supposed to like them.” He chuckles. “They’re supposed to be likable.”
Summers is the Emeritus William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Art Theory and Italian Renaissance Art at UVA. He is also an author whose works include Real Spaces: World Art History and the Rise of Western Modernism, Michelangelo and the Language of Art, and The Judgment of Sense: Renaissance Naturalism and the Rise of Aesthetics.
“David Summers is that rare art historian who can also paint,” says Les Yeux du Monde Director Lyn Warren. “He draws on his broad knowledge to create glorious paintings that hide unexpected treasures.” Summers is also known to augment his work with historical, mythological, or other erudite references. His “Net of Indra” series takes its name from an ancient Buddhist allegory that deals with the concept of interconnectedness or emptiness (of a separate self/ego). The net stretches out infinitely above the dwelling of the god Indra. Within each mesh rhombus of the net, a single jewel glitters. All the other jewels are reflected in this one jewel and are also reflecting all the other jewels, ultimately resulting in an infinite ricocheting of reflections within the net. Summers may be making a statement about the intercon
Capturing, with his brush, light glinting off reflective surfaces appears to be one of Summers’ greatest challenges and joys.
COURTESY OF THE ARTIST
