Preview: David Welker – “Remnants and Passageways” @ Harman Projects [NYC]

I first became familiar with New York-based visual artist, David Welker through his work on Phish‘s 1993 album, Rift. Among the strongest efforts in the Vermont band’s extensive catalog, the LP’s iconic all-blue cover art incorporates (almost) every song in the tracklist, represented in one way or another through David‘s beautiful dreamlike interpretation. Welker would go on to travel the country doing commissioned landscape mural work and eventually re-enter the rock poster world in 2009, adapting his “large-scale painting style to a smaller-scale pen-and-ink technique.” This Saturday, October 1st, David will showcase a brand new collection of pieces that see him returning to his painterly roots.

From paintings and murals to illustrations and poster work, Welker has assembled a respectable portfolio, packed with otherworldly psychedelia and intricate line-work. While building his name he has established a uniquely identifiable aesthetic that draws from some timeless influences. As the bio on his website explains, “Welker’s illustration style mixes depression era surrealism with a contemporary take on underground comix, and his hand rendered lettering is an uncanny blend of 19th Century sign typography mixed with equal amounts of modern graffiti.” There are elements of both Escher and Dali in his work, as he openly plays with perspective, while utilizing elaborate intertwining elements and a classic illustrative style.

His art prints have become highly sought after and, in 2015, David Welker focused all of his combined influences and exhibited his first ever gallery show at the Hoerle-Guggenheim in New York City. In 2015, we posted a preview for what marked his second solo exhibit for Spoke Art at the gallery’s flagship location in San Francisco. His show this weekend will take place in New York City at Harman Projects, which was formerly known at Spoke Art NYC. Titled “Remants and Passageways,” the brand new solo exhibit consists of a dozen new works splitting the difference between smaller greyscale charcoal illustrations and colorful mid to large-scale acrylic pantings.

The following excerpt comes from the press release for David Welker‘s new exhibit Remnants and Passageways

Remnants and Passageways signals a return to painting for Welker, whose main focus in recent years has been on drawings and illustrations in pencil, pen and ink. This recent return to painting has re-introduced a broader color palette to the artist’s work which in recent exhibitions has historically been monochromatic. This return has also been notable as it has presented an opportunity for Welker to scale up smaller works on paper into larger, more ambitious, works on canvas.

As an artist, Welker has developed a subtle yet recognizable visual language that makes art historical references ranging from German Expressionism to pre-Columbian bas-relief. The artist’s surreal compositions can be many things at once, blurring the lines between natural and manufactured, representative and abstracted.

“A cityscape that looks like an electric conduit of subconscious thought. The personification of a house that has endured the neglect of a broken system. The beauty of the remnants of decay and the prospect of a passageway to another day,” the artist explains.

Check out the preview images for the exhibit below the following event details…

WHAT:

Remnants & Passageways
Solo exhibit by David Welker

WHEN:

Saturday, October 1st, 2022
6pm-8pm

WHERE:

Harman Projects (formerly Spoke Art NYC)
210 Rivington Street
New York, NY 10002

ADDITIONAL INFO:

Opening night is ALL AGES w/NO COVER
Artist will be in attendance
Refreshments will be served
Three new limited edition prints will be available for attendees.
Show on view until Saturday, October 22nd