"No one can possibly know what is about to happen:
it is happening, each time, for the first time, for the only time."
-James Arthur Baldwin
The ability of artwork to elicit a lasting emotional response lies in its ability to reveal itself slowly. I layer thin veils of drawn, painted, or inscribed information in my work yielding images that are familiar and indistinguishable. This process allows some layers to be hidden or destroyed and other layers to come into focus. Although some of the imagery is obscured, it remains valuable as a physical and visual subtext that increases the depth of the final image. The remaining visible imagery is often a distilled delineation of the original subject. Regardless of how many times I repeat an artistic process or draw a particular form, each iteration exists both as its own unique moment and as an extension of all that I have made before it.
My work is grounded in the elements of place, collaboration, and chance. In each region of the country in which I have lived, I have collected memories, objects, forms, and color palates extracted from my immediate environment. When I lived in the Southwest, the sky filled my images. I was struck by the intensity of cloud forms by day and constellations by night. When I lived in the Northwest, I was enthralled by the quality of light and intense green-gray palate as I experienced fog regularly for the first time in my life.
I have always been a social creature. My collaborative artwork reflects the pleasure I take exchanging ideas and images with other artists. I have maintained both formal and informal artistic correspondences for several decades; most recently through a series of handmade objects that I have created, modified, and exchanged with fellow artists and colleagues.
I am fascinated with systems that combine elements of chance and order such as the game of horseshoes, dominoes, and bingo. I have adapted imagery from these games as well as imagery referencing the moon, star constellations and architectural structures to translate and express my experience of chance, order, and structure.
I believe any action can be elevated to its highest potential if it is completed with intention and purpose. As an artist, I navigate the world with curiosity and wonder. Whether I am painting hot wax on a wooden panel, wiping ink from a printmaking plate, or drawing a quick gesture with my finger on a foggy windowpane, I watch and listen for moments that transcend the ordinary. When a gesture resonates with me in this way, it may eventually become part of a finished piece. My hope is that people feel called to spend time contemplating my work, as well as reflecting on the nature of their response to it.
-David Hazlett