“Painting 75-76-77”
SARAH LAWRENCE GALLERY, BRONXVILLE, NEW YORK
PART I: FEBRUARY 19 - MARCH 10, 1977 PART II: APRIL 2 - 20, 1977
THE AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS, MIAMI, FLORIDA
PART I: APRIL - MAY, 1977 PART II: JUNE - JULY, 1977
THE CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER, CINCINNATI, OHIO AUGUST - SEPTEMBER. 1977
For Brad Davis, decoration involves an attitude rather than the application of any specific formal principle based on image repetition. He explores a personal vision which touches on the realm of fantasy. The color is bright but not garish, the imagery figural though abstracted. Although he does not use a pattern structure, Davis neutralizes any focused references by diffusing the composition through continuous linear flows. Any figural elements thus become absorbed into the overall surface rhythm. Though Davis is influenced by Islamic and Oriental art, his imagery is not borrowed directly from these sources, nor does it have a specifically "oriental" quality. What Davis looks for in the decoration of other cultures is not a particular motif which can become the subject of the painting, but a spirit, an attitude towards the creation of a visual experience. Essentially, Davis adopts this position as a way of relaxing art in terms of the demands made upon both the viewer and the painter. Kim MacConnel shares this attitude. For both artists, the extra-formal concerns of decoration, particularly the relationship of the work to its social environment, are of primary importance.