David Kessler

Pond Calligraphy

2019

b. 1950, Teaneck, New Jersey One of the most powerful tools an artist possesses is an ability to bridge the gap between what is considered real and what is illusion. This ability to alter or enhance reality is the very crux of what an artist is all about, and their success at attaining this is usually the defining element as to their stature in the field, as either an abstract or realist painter. Occasionally a painter is able to combine these two distinct disciplines and create an art form, which holds a viewer’s attention by balancing the paradox of the flat painted surface with the illusion of depth and space. For over twenty years, David Kessler followed a Photo-Realist tradition, often depicting the Arizona desert landscape where he lives. These highly complex and consummately crafted paintings have drawn the attention of collectors and curators from all over the country. Kessler's paintings invoke and utilize both the Romantic response to nature, one that eulogizes the sublime, awe-inspiring vista and the Classical response to landscape, which is lyrical and domesticated. David Kessler was born in Teaneck, New Jersey. He received a BFA degree from Arizona State University in 1972 and his MFA from San Francisco Art Institute in 1975. His paintings have been exhibited internationally since 1977 with shows in Tokyo, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York. Kessler’s paintings are in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Minnesota Museum of Art and the United States Embassy among others. He is also represented in the corporate collections of IBM, Prudential Life Insurance, McDonald’s, AT&T, Clorox, and others nationwide. The artist lives and works in Scottsdale, Arizona.