Art Now! Presents: David Urban
March 8, 2018
7pm, NCB 113
The art practice of David Urban is defined by bold collisions of line and shape, clashing tones and kinetic brushstrokes. Urban builds his dynamic paintings, layer upon layer, into a strange borderland between abstraction and representation. Rhythmic geometries conjure up networks of boards, beams and girders. These improvisations incorporate the traditions of still life and landscape, abstraction and realism within an abstract framework. Urban produces forms that confound in their perception and pursues an endless investigation into how and why we see. Urban reflects on music, childhood and the primacy of the imagination, becoming a summation of thematic ideas pursued in his paintings. He is deeply implicated in the history and methodology of paint. Urban is a poet and a musician, playing several instruments and investigating the physical presence of sound. His work explores the interplay between representation and abstraction, while maintaining a strong sense of connectivity and rhythmical structure. He integrates both real and abstract elements, simultaneously presenting two disparate threads of modern painting. Urban completed both of his undergraduate degrees at York University in 1989, graduating with a BA in English Literature and a Visual Arts BFA specializing in Painting and Drawing. He received his graduate degrees, an MA in English Literature and Creative Writing in 1991 from the University of Windsor and an MFA in Visual Arts in 1994 from the University of Guelph. Urban has had 30 solo exhibitions and participated in nearly 40 group exhibitions. Urban joined Queen’s University in March 2012 as the Koerner Artist-in-Residence, an annual professional residency in the Fine Art Program. His work is in numerous private and public collections including the National Gallery of Canada; Musée des Beaux Arts, Montreal; and the Art Gallery of Ontario. Scott McGovern, Curator, Artist, Video maker, and Educator Thursday, March 1, 7pm, NCB 113 Scott McGovern is a curator, artist, video maker, and educator. He studied video at the Ontario College of Art and Design. Since 2005 he has been the program director at Ed Video Media Arts Centre, an artist run centre in Guelph, Canada, where he has facilitated over 150 exhibitions, events, and concerts. He has curated exhibitions at artist run centres, museums, and art fairs in Canada, USA, Mexico, England, Sweden, France, and Greece.
