1964
"David was awarded a full fellowship to the
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in
Maine.The experience gave David the opportunity
to not only meet professional artists and art
students from all over America but to gain insight
into the workings of the professional artist. His
work took on an entirely different slant as he
discussed theory and application with
professional artists for hours on end. Jack
Eastman,Jr., Director of the school, assisted David
in his application and acceptance to the School of
the Art Institute of Chicago and was the first to
buy one of David's paintings. During his first year
at the Institute, David and his friend Dennis
Kowalski shared an apartment in Chicago. As a
student, David took a wide range of classes
outside of painting and drawing and found that
lithography, under the tutelage of Professor
Raymond Martin, was to have a major impact on
his creative expression. From 1965-68 David
became Martin's teaching assistant in lithography.
He also took a keen interest in literature, delving
extensively into the works of Shaw, Joyce and
Beckett.
1966
David married Carolyn Hoyle in Chicago. The
marriage ended in 1968. In 1967, while on holiday
in Florida, David began his first body of work that
distinguishes his work from other artists. He
produced a series of drawings that were inspired
by the architecture of Chicago and the monuments
of his youth in Washington. These drawings
determined his next body of work, consisting of
large shaped panels which give the impression of
stage sets or backdrops.That summer, Carolyn
and David visited the U.S. Southwest. David was
extremely moved by the Hopi Indian dwellings and
the adobe cathedral at Acuman. In addition, David
found himself heavily influenced by the Blues |
musicians Muddy Waters, junior Wells and
others he encountered in the Chicago blues
clubs.
1967
David won the George D. Brown Traveling
Fellowship from the School of the Art Institute of
Chicago. David immediately took the money and
travel to a Dodge dealership where he bought a
truck. During 1968, David was witness to the
serninal events surrounding the Democratic
National Convention and the burgeoning,
anti-war movement,
1969
David's big break came when he was invited to
have a one man show at the Allan Frumkin Gallery
in Chicago, Followed by a group show at the
Frumkin Gallery in New York.The show was both a
critical and financial success. The architectural firm
of C.F. Murphy was just one of several firms
purchasing work from this exhibition, including the
Museum of Modern Art in Milan, Italy. During the
year David also found tirne to teach at the Chicago
Academy of Art. Also during this year James
McGarrel, a professor at Indiana University and
friend from Skowhegan, offered David a full
Professorship at Indiana University, which he
accepted. David quickly found that the rural
environment of small town America was at odds
with his more urban lifestyle. In response, he
moved to the center of the art world, New York
City. It was in this year that David received his
Masters of Fine Art from the School of the Art
Institute of Chicago.
1970
David was living a loft in Lower
Manhattan. During this year he met the
sculptor Joel Fisher who introduced David to
Paula Cooper, owner of the Paula Cooper
Gallery. Paula visited David at his studio and |
