David Sheldon lives and works in Asheville, North Carolina. A multi-disciplined artist, his work has evolved over the years as both a painter and a sculptor.
Sheldon received a BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1984. His time at RISD included a formative year spent painting in Rome, Italy, as part of RISD’s European Honors Program. As a grad student, he brought sculpture into the mix. His thesis show for his MFA in 1990 at the University of Maryland incorporated large-scale, mixed-media paintings, as well as sculptural works. Mentors included internationally acclaimed sculptor, Anne Truitt, and monumental sculptor James Sanborn. Sheldon worked as an assistant to Sanborn on 'Kryptos' , installed at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, 1990. Sheldon continues to create cutting-edge sculptural works in metal, as well as provocative public art. Modernist sculpture, with its emphasis on the dynamics of form and space, continues to be a major influence in his work.
Artist Statement
“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, as well as enrich any space, both public and private. Having lived in the Western North Carolina mountains for many years now, I draw from the power and majesty of the mountains, the star-filled skies at night, and a sense that one is connected, in some way, to this vast, mysterious Universe we live in. My 'Skyworks' series of sculpture are created with what I call a 'NASA aesthetic', and express my lifelong fascination with Humanity's relation to the Cosmos.
Regarding painting, I’m a Formalist ‘convert’. It’s impossible for me not to see a painting as an object sharing space with me, rather than an illusory ‘magic window’ , with space and form illustrated on a flat surface. The 'magic window' approach keeps the viewer up in their head, lost in thought and associations. I desire to be in the moment, in real time and space, conscious of my body, sharing space with the painted object.
When I paint a landscape, I’m not attempting to transcribe some experience I’ve had in nature, by copying it onto canvas. Rather, I’m using that experience to create an abstract painting that is a sublime experience in its own right. The paint substance, plays an essential role in that process, rather than being a ‘means to an end’. The viscosity and substance of the paint and canvas are so essential, I don’t consider my works ‘seen’ , unless in person. They’re more ‘wall sculpture’ than pictorial image.
My ‘art historical’ pieces are 'purely painted' works, in the sense, that as a painter my only wish is to create paintings of vitality and substance, without additional meaning. By using paintings from Art History that are buried in my subconscious, I am attempting to not only pay homage to them, but to find my own place and identity in that relationship - to confront and release the mythos.
I play off the notion of applied meaning. I usually select an image that depicts a metaphysical, spiritual event, but in the ‘painting of the painting’, I toss out the applied meaning. The painting process, itself, becomes the metaphysical ‘event’. The paint and canvas are a container of that ‘event’, in space and time.”
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
2022 "Eco-Friendly", 10' high, aluminum entrance sculpture for the Phinizy Water Research Center,
Augusta, Georgia.
2020 “Guidance Tower” , 15’ high, aluminum sculpture, commissioned 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 the Decatur Artway, Decatur, Georgia.
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
2021. Mark Bettis Gallery, “Finding the Light”, sculpture and paintings by David Sheldon.
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
2021 Buffalo Creek Art Center, Sculptor Residency. Created "Buffalo Creek Quartet", steel.
Gardnerville, Nevada.
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.