David Avery
“The possibility suggests itself that no dreams, however absurd or senseless, are wasted in the universe. Embedded in the dream is a hunger for its own reification, a demand that imposes an obligation on reality that grows imperceptibly into a bona fide claim, an IOU clamoring for payment.”
--Bruno Schulz
Please read a review of my work in the Washington Post at http://davidavery.net/apropos/
We live in an age where words, images and objects seem to have been looted of meaning. In response to this state of affairs, I have come to think of the etchings I make as being miniature Rorschachs, the reverberations of oneiric gunshots acting upon the experiences and senses of the unsuspecting viewer, as well as the artist. The medium of black and white etching allows for a wealth of detail and tonal possibilities, acting to heighten the viewer’s perceptual receptivity and awakening unforeseen and unlikely associations. In this process, whatever initial intentions I may have had are overshadowed by the resulting discoveries and interpretations on the part of the affected viewer, dissolving further the boundaries of meaning.
Where do my ideas come from? The same place as everyone else’s—the brain. Or more precisely, they come from the interaction between experience and imagination that takes place within the brain, and I tend to think of my discovery of images in terms of receptivity rather than “inspiration” or “creativity”. If anything, my intent in pursuing a carefully worked out and highly detailed image is to work towards an inward goal unbounded by a set beginning or end, rather than trying to make some inner vision tangible. Even a simple nursery rhyme, once you start picking at it, will reveal layer upon layer of associations and further meanings. I consider my work successful to the extent that it continues to generate multiple interpretations, releasing this capacity for receptivity to the mysterious and the ambivalent that reflects the essential vibrancy of life.
2020 Awards
Don A. Tilton Purchase Award, 2020 Delta National Small Prints Exhibition; Bradbury Art Museum, Jonesboro, AK.
Purchase Award, 33rd McNeese Works on Paper Exhibition; McNeese University, Lake Charles, LA
Lonnie Eugene Stewart Award of Excellence, Galex 54 National Juried Exhibition; Galesburg Civic Art Center, Galesburg, IL.
Juror’s First Prize, Earthworks: Art in Ecological Context; Barrett Art Center, Ploughkeepsie, NY
Honorable Mention, Under Pressure: National Printmaking; Lincoln Center Art Gallery, Ft. Collins, CO.
2019 Awards
Director’s Choice Award, 2019 National Juried Exhibition at Larkin Arts; Larkin Arts, Harrisonburg, VA.
Artwork selected by Museum staff to exhibit in Selections from the Crocker-Kingsley; Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA.
2018 Awards
Purchase Award, 31st McNeese National Works on Paper Exhibition; Grand Gallery, Shearman Fine Arts Annex, Lake Charles, LA.
First Place Award, Impression; d’Art Center, Norfolk, VA.
Third Place Award, Texas National 2018; SFA Gallery, Nacogdoches, TX.
Juror’s Award, Pressing Matters 2018; San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, San Luis Obispo, CA.
2017 Awards
Purchase Award, Currency, 11th Turner National Print Competition and Exhibit; Janet Turner Print Museum, Chico, CA.
Kristy & Dr. Carl Cates Sponsorship, 2016 Delta National Small Prints Exhibition; Bradbury Art Museum, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR.
Honorable Mention, 36th Bradley International Print and Drawing Exhibition; Bradley University Galleries, Peoria, IL.
Second Place Award, 2017 Fine Arts Exhibition; Dalton Gallery, Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA.
Purchase Award, 11th Biennial International Miniature Print Competition 2017;Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT.
Second Place Award, Printmaking National Exhibition; Mark Arts, Wichita, KS.
2016 Awards
Purchase Award and Juror’s Award, Sixty Square Inches 18th North American Small Print Exhibition; Purdue University Galleries, West Lafayette, IN.
Lindquist Purchase Award, 2016 Delta National Small Prints Exhibition; Bradbury Art Museum, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR.
2015 Awards
Purchase Award, 24th Parkside National Small Print Exhibition; University of Wisconsin-Parkside Galleries, Kenosha, WI.
Third Place Award, The Fine Arts Exhibition, Decatur Arts Festival; Dalton Gallery, Agnes Scott College,
Decatur, GA.
Juror’s Award, Ink& Clay 41; Kellogg University Gallery, Pomona, CA.
Third Place Award, International Miniature Print Exhibition; Manhattan Graphics Center, New York, NY.
Honorable Mention, 18th Annual National Small Works Exhibition; Washington Printmakers Gallery, Washington, DC.
Honorable Mention, PLU National Print Exhibition; University Gallery, Tacoma, WA.
2014 Awards
Chancellor’s Purchase Award, 2014 Delta National Small Prints Exhibition; Bradbury Gallery, Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, AR.
Purchase Award, Lilliputians March National Small Works Competition; Purdue University Galleries, West Lafayette, IN.
Juror Award, Ink & Clay 40; Kellogg University Art Gallery, Pomona, CA
First Place, Paperchaser 2014; 308 Gallery, Muncie IN.
AWARDED FIRST PLACE, 2011 SF OPEN STUDIOS EXHIBITION.
David Avery continues to explore the expressive and technical possibilities inherent in black and white line etching. His work is included in the collections of the Library of Congress, the Fogg Museum at Harvard University, the New York Public Library, the Achenbach Foundation for the Graphic Arts, the Stanford University Library among others, and has been noted in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and the Washington Post.
