David Arsenault is a favorite local artist whose work will be on display at several major events in the Albany/Adirondacks region this summer. This Friday, June 4th (which is also FIRST FRIDAY), he will be at the opening of the Albany Institute of History and Art’s “Tomorrow’s Masters Today,” silent art auction and exhibit, featuring the 50 of the best artists of the Capital Region. He will also be a participating artist at the Saratoga Springs ArtFest June 10-13th.
David’s fascination with clean lines in urban landscapes sometimes produces paintings
reminiscent of Edward Hopper (known best for Nighthawks, the austere depiction of late night at a New York diner). But David’s work has a brighter, more hopeful note to it, and the color palette to paintings like Islands of Light or Joshua on High is often mellow and soothing, and his later works have much softer boundaries. The settings range from interiors of hotel rooms to Cape Cod beach retreats. He is inspired by the notion of solitude, the sweeter side of being alone, and his studies capture being at ease with aloneness in a very appealing way.
David admits to having explored the two meanings of the word “silent” and finding inspiration in both. The gothic meaning, “to cease, to grow calm,” directs his philosophy of life as well as painting, seeking places that offer silence to paint and paint in. The second meaning, “saying no more than is needed,” is reflected in his minimalist approach to painting…single structures in simple light, and single figures or elements with clean colors and lines.
David is a native of upstate New York who studied art the University of Albany. His work has been extensively shown in the Northeast, has been featured in major art magazines, and is part of a permanent collection at the Schenectady Museum.
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