Orinda Library Gallery Dave Kwinter Solo Show - 50 Years of Paintings, Digital Art + Assemblages
Lamorinda Arts Council invites you to experience Dave Kwinter’s numerous assemblage sculptures, which are not only humorous, but tend to pique curiosity. He is also showing acrylic paintings and digital art through February in the Art Gallery at the Orinda Library. Meet this prolific artist at a reception in his honor on Feb. 7 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. while enjoying light bites with fellow art lovers.
Born and raised in Toronto, Kwinter has lived in the Bay Area most of his life. A retired attorney with two psychology degrees, his work life has been varied, including serving in the Canadian military, being vice president of a bank, workingas a miner and delivering mail. Over time, he has pursued painting and digital art. He has exhibited assemblage sculptures all over the U.S. View his online gallery at tinyurl.com/58r8wwk7.
In 2018 he accidentally transitioned to making assemblage sculptures while struggling with a difficult canvas he was painting. He began sticking various items on the canvas and, “Suddenly I was in a new world of artmaking. I have devoted myself exclusively to assemblage ever since,” he said. Unlike collage, art assemblage is a 3D art form, like sculpture, created by combining found objects or everyday materials into a unified whole.
“Collecting is phase one of artmaking. It’s fun for me. I go to flea markets, thrift stores, eBay and that treasure trove in the East Bay, Urban Ore in Berkeley, and even pick things up off the street,” said Kwinter. “But sometimes I have so much stuff I can’t really look for more and have to avert my eyes when I see a thrift store,” he said with regret.
Phase two of artmaking, during which he actually creates his assemblages, is like setting out to explore a new, interesting
place for him. He plans nothing in advance.
Three things bring him joy: “The Fit” when two found items fit together perfectly; “Creating a Cluster” when he joins two or three things together that work; and “Aha Moments” when a found piece he wasn’t sure of actually works out, or when he finds a spot for a cluster piece he’s kept for months.
Kwinter has played with many genres, including realism, abstraction and cartoon imagery. Over time he discovered that his own personal enjoyment mattered more than perfection. Creating without pressuring himself to be commercially viable permits him to continue artmaking his joyful unplanned assemblages rather than following rules. Visit https://davekwinter.com for more information.
