David Molesky BIO
David Molesky obtained his BA from UC Berkeley (1999). In 2009, he returned to the US after an 18 month apprenticeship with the painter Odd Nerdrum in Iceland, Norway, and Paris. Molesky始s work has been featured in numerous museum exhibitions including: the Baltimore Museum of Art; Pasinger Fabrik, Munich, Germany; and the Grand Central Art Center, Cal State Fullerton. In 2010, his work was selected for the Pacific Coast Edition of New American Painting. He is featured in this Fall issue of the Surfers始 Journal with an 8 page article. Currently, Molesky is preparing for exhibitions in Long Beach and Santa Monica, CA. Molesky lives and works in the West Village of Manhattan.
DAVID MOLESKY! davidmolesky.com 415-844-0828
EDUCATION: 1999! !
University of California at Berkeley, Bachelor of Arts Dept. of Art Practice & PreMed emphasis in Neurobiology
1997!
Universitas Gadjah Mada, Semester Abroad, Jogykarta, Indonesia
STAGIAIRE: 2006-8! Apprentice to Odd Nerdrum. Iceland, Norway, and France
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS: 2014!
Copro Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (forthcoming)
2013!
A Long Moment: Allegories. a.Muse Gallery. San Francisco, CA (forthcoming)
2012!
AIR/WATER, the fridge, Washington, D.C.
2011! ! ! !
Protean Dreams, Artspace 712, San Francisco, CA A Journey Back, 12 Gallagher Lane, San Francisco, CA Smoke, Basement Gallery, Oakland, CA Eclipse of an Undercurrent, Marjorie Evans Gallery, Sunset Cultural Center, Carmel, CA
2010! !
Turbulent Mirror, Rae Douglass Gallery, Berkeley, CA Spume, Canessa Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007! !
Equinox, Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA Northern Lights, Radhus, Tonsberg, Norway
2005! !
Recent Landscapes, Las Fuentes Villa, Carmel Valley, CA State of Being, Municipal Building, Raleigh, NC
2004!
Pan in Arcadia, Lisa Coscino Gallery, Pacific Grove, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS: 2014!
Suggestivism, Copro Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (forthcoming)
2013! ! ! ! !
Risky RisquĂŠ, Long Beach Art Museum, Long Beach, CA (forthcoming) Summer Group Show, Copro Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (forthcoming) Suggestivism: The New Horizon, Rene Museala, Cosenza, Italy (forthcoming) Suggestivism Rome, Mondo Pop, Rome, Italy Surreal Salon, Baton Rouge Gallery for Contemporary Art, Louisiana
2012! ! ! 2011! !
100 Grand, Sullivan Goss, Santa Barbara, CA Suggestivism NYC, Bold Hype Gallery, New York, NY
2010! ! !
A History of Flight, Terrence Rogers Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA Empty Time, The Fridge Gallery, Washington, D.C. 100 Artists See Satan, Grand Central Art Center, Cal State Fullerton, Santa Ana, CA
2009! !
The Genesis of Bay Area Figurative Art Now, Art Space 712, San Francisco, CA Kitsch mer unn kunst, Telemarksgaleriet, Nottoden, Norway
2008!
Kitsch Biennale, Pasinger Fabrik, Munich, Germany
2007!
Intimate Landscape, Sesnon Gallery, University of California, Santa Cruz
2006!
All Wet, Lisa Coscino Gallery, Pacific Grove, CA
2005! !
Auto Show, Charles Campbell Gallery, San Francisco, CA My California, National Steinbeck Center, Salinas, CA
2004! !
Art of the Mediterranean Games, Italian Institute of Culture, San Francisco, CA Objects of Obsession, Lisa Coscino Gallery, Pacific Grove, CA
Suggestivism, Grand Central Art Center, Cal State Fullerton, Santa Ana, CA 100 Grand, Sullivan Goss, Santa Barbara, CA
SELECTED TRAVEL AND RESIDENCES: 2013
Morris Graves Foundation. Artist in Residence, Eureka, CA
2012
Morris Graves Foundation. Artist in Residence, Eureka, CA
2010
Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club. Artist in Residence Award, Monterey, CA
2009!
Fine Art Base. May Artist in Residence,, Sand City, CA
2008! ! ! ! 1999!
Fundacia Nakjelska. Late Spring Artist in Residence. Naklo Palace, Poland Jackowo Dolne. Spring Artist Retreat, Poland Vienna. Summer-Winter Studio, Austria Rome. Summer Studio, Italy
SELECTED PRESS: 2013! ! !
Infinite Water. Works and Conversations. Whittaker, Richard. Infinite Water. May 2013 Art Nouveau. Martin, Paley. Flying Planes and Talking Paint. January 9, 2013 MWAH. bb publications. January, 2013 pg. 51
2012! !
The Surfers Journal. Escalante, Greg & Spoor, Nathan. Politics of Paint. vol 21.5, pg. 70-77 Heaven. Art of Elysium, Audi, & Relativity Media. Paper Chase Press. pg. 61
2011! ! ! ! ! ! 2010! ! !
A Long Moment. Van Proyen, Mark. Protean Dreams Monograph. Electric Works, SF. Suggestivism: A Survey of Contemporary Artists. Spoor, Nathan. Berkeley: Ginko Press. pg. 178-179 Odd Nerdrum: Kitsch, More than Art. Tuv, Jan-Ove; Li, Bjorn; and others. September. pg. 314 San Francisco Examiner. Flood, Greg. “A Journey Backʼ - David Molesky at 12 Gallagher.” December 2 Studio Visit Magazine. Boston: Open Studios Press. pg. 134-135 David Molesky, SPUME. Torres, Anthony. San Francisco: ePressBooks. (monograph) New Amercian Paintings: Pacific Coast Edition, #91. Boston: Open Studios Press. pg. 100 - 103 East Bay Express. Cheng, Dewitt. “Ripple Effects.” December 22
2009! ! !
Kitsch: mer enn kunst. Nerdrum, Odd. pg. 314 Juxtapoz Magazine Website. Spoor, Nathan. “David Molesky.” November 2 Juxtapoz Magazine Website. Link to my video “Making Foam.” May 7, 2009
2008!
ISM Magazine. Spoor, Nathan. “Master & Apprentice” Spring issue 14, pg. 12-15
2007!
Southwest Art Magazine. Fauntleroy, Gussie. 21 Under 31. September, pg.135
2006! !
Intimate Landscape. Galuska, Frank. October, p.29 The Monterey County Herald. Watson, Lisa Crawford. “WaterWorks.” March 30-April 5
2005!
Southwest Art Magazine. Gangelhoff, Bonnie. Artists to Watch. September, pg.30
2004!
Monterey County Weekly. Deragon, Rick. “Be Still My Heart.” February, pg.4
2000!
Raleigh Spectator. Bible, Adam. Gallery. September, pg. 6-12
LECTURES: 2013! !
California College of the Arts. Oakland, CA Bay Area Classical Atelier. Burlingame, CA
2012! !
University of California at Berkeley. Advanced Painting Golden Gate Collectors, San Francisco, CA
2010! !
San Francisco Art Institute. Advanced Painting Undergrad and Graduate ODD. ODC Theatre. Pre-dance performance lecture and live painting. San Francisco, CA
2009!
California College of the Arts. Advanced Painting. San Francisco, CA
2007!
Swihart Lecture Series. Santa Monica, CA
1977!
Born in Washington, D.C. - Lives and Works in NYC
David Molesky painting in the White Room Gallery at University of California at Berkeley.
David Molesky - Action Painting As a student at the University of California at Berkeley, I was double majoring in Art and Neurobiology. At first, I painted expressive figurative works which quickly progressed along the rails of modernism towards non-objective abstraction. My paint strokes started to take on a life of their own, and one of the professors at Berkeley suggested I no longer needed the framework of representational imagery to contain and organize my mark making; it was as if the depictions of volumes began to simultaneously implode into airy abstractions. Abandoning preconceived intentions, I began applying paint to the surface and responding and building upon marks. These first paintings contained an orgy of figurative-like forms and a few people commented that they resembled early Phillip Guston. These were transitional. I desired to work larger and be fully immersed in an exploratory visual reality. In making larger work, I had to change my materials from an hobby scale to that of industry. I gathered several hundred gallons of house paint from various recycling centers, which were being held for the purposes of murals. I found a canvas wholesaler who supplied to sailing outfitters. Discarded lumber Berkeley始s sculpture yard was sawed down to make stretchers. The stretched canvases were sized to optimally use the length of the found wood. After the raw cotton duct canvas was stretched. I cleared away the multitudes of tables and easels from the large classrooms in Kroeber Hall, which were usually vacant during the evenings and on weekends. I then wheeled in a shopping cart over flowing with cans of paint, various kinds of paint buckets and a whole arsenal of unconventional painting tools. The stretched canvas was laid down on the floor. I used a mop and a bucket of water to prepare and wet the surface. After smoking a cigar, or some other ceremonious mind altering consumable, I would begin. I would launch into work by making a cathartic gesture that would explode sometimes half a gallon of paint over much of the surface. Often this paint was thicker than what might typically be used to paint an interior wall. Most the cans had been opened and were in a process of drying and thickening. I also used additives to some of the paint such as gel medium and chalk. Viewing the paint upon the surface, a window opens to a space where flowing saturated colors become objects as well as the spaces between them. Each successive gesture was guided by my visceral experience of the pictorial space. As the view settled into my gut, it would elevate to new feeling that could only be satisfied in the next series of gestures. And then, I would settle back again to re-absorb. The images were also simultaneously providing me with a visual model with which I could use to stimulate and then observe myself as experimental guinea pig and I often reflected on what neurobiological activity was underpinning my experience.
Moss Falls, 1998 acrylic, latex, and copper on canvas 85 x 53 inches
Raindeer Lichen, 1998 copper, latex, and acrylic on canvas 72 x 96 inches
Flying Pig, 1998 latex and road bead on canvas 68 x 64 inches
Electric Water Lilies, 1999 latex, acrylic and oil on canvas 80 x 208 inches
Lobsterama, 1998 latex, acrylic and oil on canvas 110 x 83 inches