Wilton Artists Exhibit at Watershed Gallery

Watershed Gallery will open a new exhibition of individual and collaborative works by painters David Dunlop and Max Dunlop, with an artist’s reception on Saturday, January 31st at 6pm. The exhibit will explore the constantly evolving relationships of artists to their artwork, and parents to their children.

“David and Max’s individual artistic predilections are evident when comparing their painting styles,” says Jennifer Mathy, director of the gallery. “Max’s more monochromatic imagery and gritty, expressionistic brush strokes are in contrast to his father, David’s, use of attractive color harmonies and smooth, blended surfaces.

“But it is their influence on each other’s work that is most captivating, both indirectly and directly – through their painting collaborations. For some time, each artist has been starting their own painting, then at a mutually agreed upon point, they switch paintings. One begins where the other ends. The results are astounding: a collaboration between differing sensibilities, between generations.”

David Dunlop, renowned Wilton, Connecticut, artist and host of the Emmy Award-winning PBS series Landscapes Through Time, has been described as a “modern-day old master.” A long-time faculty member of the Silvermine School of Art, David’s luminous works draw from both Renaissance techniques and contemporary science.

“Artwork is never ‘done,’” David explains. “The American landscape painter, George Inness, would famously sneak into collectors’ homes to steal away his own paintings to make changes – changes he felt urgently necessary. In the same way, one’s relationship with their child is never ‘done.’ It just gets renewed and takes on a new dimension. It’s always dynamic, always in flux. Just like a painting.”

Artist and musician Max Dunlop is embroiled in a constant search for visually profound moments. Inspired by the motion, grit and grandeur of his New York home, Max applies paint with energy and passion and considers the process of creating a painting more important than the end result. Max is flying in from a year-long sabbatical – travelling through Patagonia, Europe & Southeast Asia – especially for the opening reception.

During the reception on January 31, parents who attend with their children will be asked to visit the basement studio to begin a painting collaboration of their own. Parents will be asked to begin a piece, and then turn it over to their children to complete while the adults enjoy the reception in the gallery. Staff will be on hand in the basement studio to monitor children and facilitate the project.

Then, on Sunday, February 1st at 2:00pm, David & Max will reunite in the gallery for a joint lecture on the subject of artistic collaboration. Stationed on opposite ends of the gallery, the two will conduct a dynamic, unscripted conversation about the history, process, joys and frustrations of collaborating with another artist – and with a relative.

Members of the general public are invited to attend both the Saturday opening reception and the Sunday lecture at Watershed Gallery, 23 Governor Street in Ridgefield. For more information, please visit watershedgallery.com or contact the gallery at 203.438.4387.