Friday, July 19, 2024
Artist’s talk followed by reception
Free Admission (RSVP Encouraged)
5:30—6:30 PM: Artist’s Talk / 6:30—8:30 PM: Reception

They share that rare space between artists, each allowed to test ideas on the other without fear of reprisal… well sometimes! But that’s just it—this is a years-long conversation based on trust and honesty. Each demands of the other their highest standards and integrity. Before Wester’s arrival from New York, Barnes and Deininger had been in conversation for decades prior. Surprisingly, PIVOT is also the first time that all three artists have exhibited together.

Image: David Barnes and Tom Deininger critiquing Bradley Wester's work

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

David Barnes is a mid-career artist who lives in Middletown RI and has his studio in Bristol RI. Primarily a painter, his work engages contemporary social and political issues through the lens of landscape painting. He holds a masters of fine arts degree in painting from UMASS Dartmouth and a bachelor of fine arts from the University of New Hampshire. He has received numerous awards and grants for his work including the Pollock-Krasner Grant in 2016. His work is held by the RISD Museum, Salve Regina University, Newport Art Museum and numerous private collections. He currently teaches at Bristol Community College in Fall River and the Newport Art Museum.

Thomas Deininger is a Rhode Island based artist whose work combines environmental concerns with an innovative approach to image making. His found object assemblages are constructed from non-recyclable, non-biodegradable materials that pile up in our nation’s landfills. Works like this provide a thoughtful response to mass consumerism. He asks the viewer to reconsider the potential for transcendence of the mundane. His works are in many private and public collections throughout the world.

Bradley Wester, visual artist, writer, and cultural activist was born and raised in New Orleans and lives and works in New York, Rhode Island, and Miami. Bradley’s hybrid practice combines painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, and digital photographic imaging. His recent solos include DISCOlour at the Newport Art Museum; DISCOrd #1 at farm projects, Wellfleet MA; DISCOurse #2 at Pavel Zoubok in New York; and DISCOurse #3 at Yellow Peril in Providence. Previously he worked on a ten-year project called "Ephemera & Culture: Italy, Turkey, and Japan—a Trilogy," where he lived and worked in three disparate but geographically symmetrical cultures, resulting in three connected bodies of work. Other solo & group shows include Tiger Strikes Asteroid in Chicago, Jamestown Arts Center in Rhode Island, Margalef & Gipponi in Antwerp, PIASA Paris, Lyonswier Gallery and Artists Space in New York, and Future Tenant in Pittsburgh. Awards include Specialist Fulbright to Kyoto Japan, two MacDowell Fellowships, and a Pollock-Krasner Grant. Visiting Artist/Lecturer credits include CalArts, RISD, Dartmouth College, SVA, Tulane, Sint Lucas Antwerp, Kyoto University of Art & Design, The American Academy in Rome, and Ringling College of Art & Design.