David Sheldon is a renowned painter and sculptor, currently residing in the mountains of Western North Carolina. With over thirty years experience as a professional artist, his resume includes public art commissions, grants, and honors. His work is included in public and private collections, both nationally and internationally. Sheldon is an extremely versatile and creative artist, mastering a variety of mediums and disciplines. "I'm one of those types, the first time I picked up a pencil, I was off to the races", says Sheldon, "and have never looked back. I see it as a calling - my way of 'being of service in this world'".
Sheldon's work has evolved over the years. After receiving a BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design, in 1984, Sheldon also brought sculpture into his repertoire. His thesis show, for his MFA at the University of Maryland, incorporated large-scale, mixed-media paintings, as well as sculptural works created with walls of glass aquariums. Each sculpture contained 'specimens' of underwater sculpture, inspired by Nature, along with elements of a metaphysical nature incorporated into open-air sections. Growing up in the Washington, D.C. area, Sheldon spent many hours immersed in the Smithsonian Museums, absolutely mesmerized by the beauty and variety of the natural history museums, as well as the world-class art collections on hand. His love for these two worlds continue to play off each other, and inform and inspire his work in both painting and sculpture.
Currently, Sheldon continues to create cutting-edge, sculptural works in metal, as well as provocative public art. "It's very satisfying to be able to use my vision as an artist in contributing something both beautiful, and stimulating to a community in the public realm", says Sheldon, "as, well as enrich any space, both public and private".
Regarding Painting: Sheldon’s painting approach emphasizes a spiritual connection we all have with the natural world. Influenced by a love for the Abstract Expressionists as well as contemporary landscape painting, Sheldon’s rich, lushly textured works have a unique vibrancy. "As far as I'm concerned, there's really no way to 'depict' the sublime reality of Nature with a traditional painting, so I don't even try. But one can still create a painting that is equally compelling by allowing the paint to have its own voice and presence in distilling the artist’s experience of Nature, and that's what I try to do".
EDUCATION
1984 Bachelors of Fine Arts, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI.
1990 Master of Fine Arts, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
PUBLIC ART
2020 “Guidance Tower” , 15’ high, aluminum sculpture, selected as the frontispiece for the
City of Roanoke’s new 811/E911 Call Center, Roanoke, VA.
2020 “Fa Sol” , 8’ high, steel sculpture, selected for ‘Art on Sample”’, by the city of Coral Springs, Fl.
2019 “Orion” , 8’ high, steel sculpture, selected for ‘Salmagundi XXIII”’, by the city of Rocky Mount,NC.
Installed at the AmTrack station in Rocky Mount.
2019 “Oracle”, 8’ high, aluminum sculpture, selected for ‘Roanoke Rising’, by the city of Roanoke, VA.
Installed in Elmwood Art Park, in downtown Roanoke.
2018 “Mars Cutter”, Madison County Manufacturing Art Park, 10’ high sculpture, steel, Mars Hill, NC.
2018 “Ariel”, City of Asheville, Office of the Mayor. Wall sculpture on view in
Mayor Elisabeth Manheimer’s office.
2017 “Alpha Centauri”, Uptown Tree Project, Greeley, Colorado. 20’ high aluminum sculpture.
2016 “Birds of Different Feathers”, Uptown Tree Project, Greeley, Colorado. 20’ high sculptural “tree”
made of one inch thick, painted aluminum forms.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2020 Mark Bettis Gallery, “Affirmation and Renewal: Connecting to Nature,
New Works by David Sheldon”, sculpture and paintings by David Sheldon.
2018 Tointon Gallery for the Visual Arts, “Murmuration “ Paintings by David Sheldon.
“Field Guide to the Birds of North America” intimate abstractions. Greeley, Colorado.
2017 High Point University, “Ascension”, paintings and sculpture, High Point, NC.
2015 Satellite Gallery, “Dreams and Structures, New Work by David Sheldon”, paintings and sculpture.
Asheville, NC.
1997 Troyer, Fitzpatrick, Lassman Gallery, “Zoologica Mysterium”, paintings and sculpture,
Washington, D.C.
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019 Asheville Area Arts Council, “Beyond Knowing”, An engaging, interactive, multi-media group
show, curated by David Sheldon.
2019 Mark Bettis Studio/Gallery, “828”, Oil paintings on wood, with an Asheville theme.
2017 Ciel Gallery, Charlotte, NC. “Build” group show, sculptural installation.
1995 Ellipse Art Center, “Tributaries”, sculpture, juror, Lee Fleming, art critic, Washington
Post, Arlington,VA.
1995 Maryland Art Place, “Critic’s Picks Show”, paintings, Juror, Faye Hirsch, New York art
critic, Baltimore, MD.
1994 Arlington Arts Center, “Annual Juried Show”, sculpture,Juror,Howard Fox, curator
LACMA, Arlington,VA.
HONORS
2010 Individual Artist Project Grant, awarded by the Arts Council of Henderson County
and the North Carolina Arts Council.
1995 Awarded First Place, “Tributaries”, group sculpture show, Arlington, VA,
by juror, Lee Fleming, art critic for the Washington Post.
1991 Individual Artist Grant, Maryland State Arts Council.
1990 Smithsonian Institute Internship, awarded to the model making department.
1982 European Honors Program, RISD, one year of study in Rome, Italy.
TEACHING
2008– 2013 Blue Ridge Community College, Flat Rock, North Carolina.
Instructor of Art : Painting, Art Appreciation, Drawing I, II.
2008-2013 Brevard College, Brevard, North Carolina. Painting, Drawing.
2010-2012 Painting Coordinator, The Green River Preserve, Cedar Mountain, NC
RELATED EXPERIENCE
1990-91 Principle Sculptor’s Assistant to James Sanborn, “Kryptos”, sculptural installation
on the grounds of the Central Intelligence Agency, Langley, VA.
1992-94 Artist Assistant to William Calfee, Sculptor/painter and originating chairman,
George Washington University Art Department, Washington, D.C.
COLLECTIONS
Public and Private Collections / Nationally, Internationally.