Dunn and Brown Gallery

DUNN AND BROWN GALLERY // JAN 14 // 6 - 8PM

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Dunn and Brown Contemporary is pleased to announce the opening of the
much anticipated exhibition Themes and Variations by acclaimed Texas-based
artist, David Bates. David Bates: Themes and Variations will open with a reception
on Thursday, January 14 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM and continue through Saturday,
February 20. David Bates will be present for the opening reception.

Themes and Variations, an interpretation of the longstanding practice of the still-
life painting in art history, will include David Bates’ recent still-life paintings in oil as
well as studies, ranging in scale from intimate to monumental. With this newest
body of work, Bates presents groupings of still-life paintings with the same subject
in altered states. These varied compositions of similar subjects such as dogwood ,
magnolias, peonies, irises, owls, and shells reveal the process behind building a
composition. A centerpiece of the exhibition is the charcoal drawings on canvas
Peonies III installed with four oil paintings of the same subject, Peonies I, II, IV, and
V. The layers of these variations in composition not only expose the decisions
Bates makes in the studio when creating a painting, but also reference the rich
history of still-life painting. From Manet to Matisse and Picasso to Hartley, Bates
draws upon the still life masters of the past for inspiration.

A native of Dallas, David Bates is undeniably one of Texas’ most celebrated
artists. Bates attended Southern Methodist University and earned a B.F.A. in 1975
followed by an M.F.A. in 1978. Shortly after completing graduate school, Bates
received across the country exhibiting in museums including the Corcoran Gallery
of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and the
Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston. In 1987, his work was included in the
prestigious Biennial Exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and in
1988, Bates was honored with a traveling exhibition organized by the Modern Art
Museum of Fort Worth. His paintings and sculpture have been acquired by
museums including the Dallas Museum of Art; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Whitney
Museum of American Art, New York; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; Hirshhorn
Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery
and Sculpture Garden, Lincoln, Nebraska, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas,
Modern Art Museum of Forth Worth, Texas, National Museum of American Art,
Washington, D.C., El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, Texas, and San Francisco
Museum of Modern Art.

In 2007 the Museum of Modern Art Fort Worth in association with Scala Publishers
published comprehensive monograph entitled, David Bates, which includes over
one hundred full color illustrations of Bates’ works on paper, paintings, and
sculpture from his thirty year career.

Dunn and Brown Contemporary
5020 Tracy Street
Dallas, Texas 75205
214-521-4322
dunnandbrown.com

DAVID BATES