Project Description

David T Kessler

Born in 1950; Park Ridge, New Jersey

Perception of reality varies from person to person, but generally conforms to a unified belief as dictated by physical laws, and a common acceptance of the existing phenomena recorded by our eyes.

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. A painter can use a canvas like a window to direct images through the eye-gate of the viewer and thus manipulate our perception as indicated by what is seen. 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 T Kessler has followed a Photo-Realist tradition, using acrylic and airbursh to vivify his landscapes, often the Arizona desert 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.

EDUCATION
1975
MFA, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
1972
BFA, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
 
AWARDS, GRANTS, AND HONORS
1972
Outstanding Graduate in Studio Art, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
 
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019
Natural Rhythms( (with Jim Waid), Bentley Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
2017
Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, AZ
2016
Bentley Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
2015
Marietta Cobb Museum of Art, Marietta, GA
2014
Stricoff Fine Art, New York, NY
2013
Stricoff Fine Art, New York, NY
2012
Stricoff Fine Art, New York, NY
2012
Dean Day Gallery, Houston, TX
2012
M Contemporary, Annapolis, MD
2011
Stricoff Fine Art, New York, NY
2010
Phoenix Airport Museum, Phoenix, AZ
2009
O.K. Harris Works of Art, New York, NY
2008
Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
2008
Susan Street Gallery, Solana Beach, CA
2007
Bentley Projects, Phoenix, AZ
2006
OK Harris Works of Art, New York, NY
2006
Ogilvie-Pertl Gallery, Chicago, IL
2006
Meyer East Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2004
Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
2004
Ogilvie-Pertl Gallery, Chicago, IL
2003
Vanier Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ
2002
Vanier Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ
2001
Davis Dominguez Gallery, Tucson, AZ
2000
Vanier Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ
1999
Vanier Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ
1996
Riva Yares Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1996
Northern Arizona University Art Museum, Flagstaff, AZ
1996
Riva Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
1987
Elaine Horwitch Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ
1985
Elaine Horwitch Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ
1983
Elaine Horwitch Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ
1983
Sedona Art Museum, Sedona, AZ
1981
Elaine Horwitch Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ
1979
Phil Descind’s Capricorn Gallery, Bethesda, MD
1977
Gallery 4, Alexandria, VA
1976
ADI Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1973
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
 
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022
American Realism Today, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT
2020
Southwest Rising, Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art, Tucson, AZ
2018-19
50 Years of Realism, Photorealism to Virtual Reality; Centro Cultural Banco do
Brazil; Sao Paulo, Brasilia, and Rio de Janeiro
2018
Hiperrealisme; The Museu Del Tabac, Andorra
2017
Au Gallery, Boston, MA
2015
Mason Fine Arts. Atlanta, GA
2014
The West Select, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
2014
Sorrel Sky Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2014
Plus One Gallery, London, England
2013
Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
2013
Stricoff Fine Art, New York, NY
2012
Art Basel, Miami, FL
2012
Etra Fine Art, Miami, FL
2011
Art Basel, Miami, FL
2011
Ogilvie-Pertl Gallery, Chicago, IL
2010
Stricoff Fine Arts, New York, NY
2009
Plus One Gallery, London, England
2008
Ogilvie-Pertl Gallery, Chicago, IL
2007
Introductions II, Stremmel Gallery, Reno, NV
2006
Arts Botanica, Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago, IL
2005
Paint of Metal, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
2003
Hyperrealism, USA, 1965-1975, Strasbourg Museum of Contemporary Art,
Strausbourg, France
2002
As Real as it Gets, Superrealism and Photorealism, Tucson Museum of
Contemporary Art, Tucson, AZ
2001
Inaugural Show, Vanier Fine Art, Tucson, AZ
2000
Davis Dominguez Gallery, Tucson, AZ
1999
New Acquisitions Show, Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Scottsdale, AZ
1997
Landscapes, Virginia Miller Galleries, Miami, FL
1996
Living with Art, Bruce Kapson Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1996
Riva Yares Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1995
Paintings, Barrington Area Arts Center, Barrington, IL
1994
Getting Real, 20th Century American Realism, South Bend Regional Museum of
Art, South Bend, IN
1993
Arizona Artists, Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, AZ
1992
Riva Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
1989
Exhibition of Master Works, Riva Yares Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
1989
Sazama Gallery, Chicago, IL
1988
Elemental Visions/Personal Landscapes, Art Museum of South Texas,
Corpus Christi, TX
1987
Boundless Realism: Contemporary Landscape Painting of the West, The
Rockwell Museum, Corning, NY
1987
The Phil Sescind Collection, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH
1986
Elaine Horwitch Galleries, Palm Springs, CA
1986
Arizona Collects, 20th Century Painting, Tucson Museum of Contemporary Art,
Tucson, AZ
1985
Centennial Distinguished Alumni Exhibition, Arizona State University, The
Arizona Bank Galleria, Phoenix, AZ
1984
A Sense of Place: The Essence of Contemporary Southwest Art, Elaine
Horwitch Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ
1983
The Southwest Invitational, Yuma, AZ
1982
Contemporary Watercolors from Frumkin-Struve Gallery, University of Wisconsin
Foster Art Gallery, Eau Claire, WI
1982
14th Annual Watercolor West, Utah State University, Logan, UT
1981
Watercolors, Dubins Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1981
Contemporary American Watercolors, Illinois Bell, The Lobby Gallery, Chicago,
IL
1980
Watercolors 1980, Frumkin-Struve Gallery, Chicago, IL
 
COLLECTIONS
 
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
Achenbach Foundation, San Francisco, CA
Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, AZ
Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
McDonald’s, Oak Brook, IL
Clorox, Oakland, CA
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA
Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Scottsdale, AZ
INTEL, Santa Clara, CA
Kemper Art Collection, Chicago, IL
Citicorp, New York, NY
Barrington Arts Center, Barrington, IL
Davidson College, Davidson, NC
De Anza College, Cupertino, CA
Minnesota Museum of Art, St. Paul, MN
Monterey Peninsula Museum of Art, Monterey, CA
Northern Arizona University Art Museum, Flagstaff, AZ
Portsmouth Community Arts Center, Portsmouth, NH
Strasbourg Museum of Contemporary Art, Strasbourg, France
Thomas W. Keating Bioscience Research Building, Tucson, AZ
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Renown Hospital, Reno, NV
Bio 5 Research Facility, Tucson, AZ
Good Samaritan Hospital, Phoenix, AZ
Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton, OH
Kaiser Permanente Hospital, Downey, CA
Methodist Hospital, Willowbrook, TX
Parkview Regional Medical, Fort Wayne, IN
AT&T, Dallas, TX
Illinois Bell, Chicago, IL
Arco, La Palma, CA
Bank of America, Charlotte, NC
Prudential Life Insurance, Newark, NJ
Crown Zellerbach, Augusta, GA
Rainier Life Insurance, Seattle, WA
Dean Witter, New York, NY
Shaklee, Pleasanton, CA
Dupont deNemours, Wilmington, DE
St. Joseph’s Hospital, Phoenix, AZ
Foremost McKesson, San Francisco, CA
Transamerica, Cedar Rapids, IA
Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles, CA
U.S. Leasing
IBM, Armonk, NY
Palo Alto Foundation, Palo Alto, CA
M D Anderson, Houston, TX
 
 
PUBLICATIONS
2020
Sasse, Julie. Southwest Rising: Contemporary Art and the Legacy of Elain
Horwitch, Cattle Track Press and Tuscon Museum of Art; 2020
2017
The Ripple Effect, Artbeat, March, 2017
2016
Artwork from the Collection of University Hospitals, University Hospitals, 2016
2015
45 Years at OK Harris, 2015
2014
The US West Select, Phoenix Art Museum
2014
How I Made Reflections over Koi, Artists and Illustrators, April 2014
2014
Reflections on Water, Phoenix Home and Garden, July 2014
2008
Les Collections du Musee d’Art Moderne et Contemporain de la Ville de
Strasbourg, 2008
2005
Modern and Contemporary Explorations and Discoveries, Paint on Metal,
Tucson Museum of Art, 2005
2006
Waterscapes, Paintings on Metal, OK Harris Works of Art
2004
Report from Strasbourg, Reality Show, Art in America, Daniel Belasco, March,
2004
2003
Hypererrealismes USA 1965-1975, Les Musees de Strasbourg, Hazan
2003
Art Press, Paris, October, 2003
2003
Les Journal Des Arts, Paris, September, 2003
2003
Technikart-Paris, September, 2003
2003
Reflets DVA-Strasbourg September, 2003
2003
Le Monde-Paris, August, 2003
2003
Les Echos-Paris, August, 2003
2003
Sudkurier, Konstanz, August, 2003
2003
Frankfurter Rundschau-Frankfurt, August, 2003
2003
Beaux Arts Magazine, Paris, July, 2003
2003
La Marseillaise-Marseille, July, 2003
2003
Reperes, Strasbourg, July, 2003
2003
Die Rheinplatz, July, 2003
2003
Arts Antiques Auctions, July, 2003
2003
Connaissance Des Arts-Paris, July, 2003
2003
Badische Zeitung, Freiburg, July, 2003
2003
Bell’Eurpope-Milan, June, 2003
2003
Telerama-Paris, June.2003
2003
Strasbourg Magazine, June 2003
2003
Arts Actualities Magazine-Clichy, June, 2003
2003
Hebdoscope Strasbourg, June, 2003
2003
Dernieres Nouvelles D’Lasace-Strasbourg, June, 2003
1994
Getting Real: 20th Century American Realism from the Philip Desind Collection
Catalogue, South Bend Regional Museum of Art, 1994
1992
Desert Phenomena, Aluminous Reflections Catalogue, Riva Yares Gallery,
1992
1987
Boundless Realism, Contemporary Landscape Painting of the West
Catalogue, The Rockwell Museum, 1987
1987
Crane, Diane. The Transformation of the Avant Garde Catalogue, The
University of Chicago Press, 1987
1986
Arizona Collects, 20th Century Painting Catalogue, Fave Litho Ltd., 1986
1985
Centennial Distinguished Alumni Exhibition Catalogue, School of Art, Arizona
State University, 1985
1983
Contemporary Images, Watercolor: 1983 Catalogue, Allen Priebe Gallery,
University of Wisconsin,1983
1982
Arizona Biennial ’82 Catalogue, Tucson Museum of Art, 1982
1980
Watercolors 1980, Frumkin & Struve, 1980
1980
Lindey, Christine. Superrealist Painting and Sculpture Catalogue, Morrow and
Co, 1980
1977
Drawing USA 75 Catalogue, Minnesota Museum of Art, 1975-1977
1977
David T. Kessler at Gallery 4, Art in America, July-August, 1977