David Pearson: Grace, Dignity, and Delight in Bronze

Tomorrow, September 14, an exhibition of NEW WORK BY DAVID PEARSON will open at the Patricia Carlisle Fine Art gallery on Canyon Road in Santa Fe, NM. It will run through September 23, with an opening reception this coming Friday, 9/18.

Pearson's work is about beauty, litheness, and eternal grace. He brings an element of emotion to each piece that must be seen personally to be fully engaged. To him, creation is a circle of connectivity between the artist, the gallery, and the collector. Pearson feels it is that circular energy that “completes the communication,” and there is no doubt that his figurative work inspires communication, creating a silent dialogue between viewer and sculpture that is fresh and exciting.

Through his imaginative use of proportion, abstraction, exaggeration, and minimalism Pearson captures a classic, renaissance aesthetic in his pieces. He sculpts ethereal figures that unfailingly portray a range of quiet emotions, figures caught unawares, in repose, in a moment of contemplation or unselfconscious pleasure.

Pearson’s mastery of his craft and his in-depth explorations of art history have led to his continually growing international reputation as a master craftsman. He built his studio on acreage outside Santa Fe that he and his wife purchased in the 1990s, and his work ethic is legendary. It is not unusual for him to work from sunup to sundown.

While his ability to bring his visions to fruition is a testament to his skill, he has said in interviews that his signature elongated, elegant figures “flow” out of him, inspired by mythology and history, the Etruscans, and by such artists as Modigliana and Giacometti. But, in the end, they are all Pearson, the stunning product of a rich mind and impressive talent.

More images can be seen at Carlisle Fine Art & on David Pearson's website.

-- Rosemary Carstens
Carstens Communications

(Top left: mirothea, 28”; right, misceo, 40”; bottom left, the artist; right, his studio)