Davie Duke is a trained painter and self-taught sculptor. For the past two years he has focused on oil painting on canvas. Davie’s recent work, what he calls the “Black and White” series, is a collection of larger oil paintings on canvas that include thought-provoking displays of dots and circles, all in a restricted palette of black and white.
Davie describes his artistic technique: “To conceptualize the process and suggest a pixelated digital format, I started with dots which then became circles. They are atomic and celestial, providing the basic building blocks of these images. It’s about exploring everything at the atomic level. Everything is one, and all is connected.” Davie adds that Buddhism and the belief in the connectedness of everything around us influences his paintings.
Davie’s artistic works are reflections of his life experiences and relationships. Through his current series, he explores the racial dimension of his multiracial family and finds new ways to connect more deeply with his sons.
Ten years ago, Davie poured his energy into creating sculpture with fragile materials like balsa wood and tissue paper, healing from the trauma of a fire which burned his art studio to the ground. Years later, he found himself expressing his feelings of loss through sculpture following the death of his mother and father.
Most recently Davie finds COVID-19 and its impact on our world filtering into his painting. He continues to paint whatever he is experiencing in the moment.
“I think as little as possible and totally trust my intuition, letting it be my guide,” he says. “I relate to Picasso who said, ‘My work is my diary.’ My art doesn’t make sense at the time, but it makes sense later, in retrospect.”
David’s professional career includes work as a scenic artist and designer. Employed with Target for more than ten years, he worked primarily as a scenic artist in the photography studio and later transitioned to the role of designer with Target’s Experiential Team. For several years he was part of the design team that created Dayton’s annual Christmas and flower shows. David has also worked as a scenic artist in theater, film, and television commercials.
Donating art to Art 4 Shelter for the first time, Davie is pleased to be involved. His good friend and Art 4 Shelter committee member, Juli Hanson, asked him if he would participate. “This is an incredibly important event. Shelter is a basic need to give people. It’s great to be involved,” he says.
David was a past recipient of the Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota Arts Board.
His work has been most recently shown in gallery spaces in Minnesota and Chicago. He plans to approach art galleries and shows in Minnesota and the U.S. about featuring his work.
Born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, Davie currently lives in South Minneapolis.
Davie Duke’s artwork may be viewed on his website, www.davieduke.com.