Presented by: Gilles Clement Gallery (booth 119)
When: Friday April 5th, 2-3pm
Where: Across from booths 126 and 127

Gilles Clement Gallery presents NY-based artist David Datuna. Focused on the convergence of art and social consciousness, Datuna is most widely acclaimed for his Viewpoint of Millions series, which explores the sources and meaning of cultural identity from unique points of view.

Datuna’s artwork, with its political, cultural and commercial commentary on the human collective consciousness, finds an ideal host in Philly, the City of Brotherly Love. The monumental USA flag piece to be presented at the Philadelphia Fine Art Fair invites engagement with scenes from the American history and its iconic emblem, in the context and company of the ‘first flag’ to represent the 13 colonies, on permanent display at the Armory.

 

 

The signature technique in Viewpoint of Millions is a network of positive and negative optical lenses suspended over a large-scale layered, collaged and painted image. The mixed media palette includes photography, newspaper and magazine clippings, paint and color. Portraits, flags and icons are recurring themes in the series.

Structurally, the eyeglasses are a symbolic expression of identity, illusion, perception, fragmentation and unification. For the artist, they represent our diverse society with people of different colors, sizes and shapes– each with their own positive and negative points of view. From a distance the sculpture can be seen as a kaleidoscopic image that unifies the whole as a symbol; on closer inspection, the viewer can discern collaged books excerpts and newspaper headlines of political and social culture, along with pop images of celebrities, innovators and leaders that dared to be different. Rather than expressing opinion, the themes provide a roadmap to identity and history, encouraging the viewer to thoughtfully consider, ponder and respect other points of view.

Datuna continues to press the boundaries of art in exploring how we perceive cultural identity as individuals, social groups, even nations. His work bears witness to the history and powerful status of the celebrated emblems captured, distilled and subsequently reflected back to us for personal re-examination. His artwork pays tribute both to Jasper Johns’ series of American flags and to the exploitation of the found object and collage tradition. Yet perhaps more powerfully, it imbues timeless images with new meaning by anchoring them simultaneously in the present and to their rich history.