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PAINTINGS
Paper Houses - yellow
Paper Houses - red
Paper Houses - adobe
Truchas Series
Lobster Gut Series
Subways Crossing Series
Lower Basin Series
Color Column Series
Chama Valley Series
Buoy Strings Series
Sierra Nevada RR Series
Gallery House Series
Class One Railroads Model Photographs
Class One RR Series
Mergers & Acquisitions Series
Airport Series Model Photographs
Airport Series
Airport Series Enlargements
Grenada Series
Color Traffic Series
Streams-Bogs Series
Rainbow Polyphony Series
Upland Series
Fashion Series

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ARTIST'S STATEMENT

My abstract paintings are based on details of my buildings and my sculptures.

In the case of the building, a corner view is selected to show the intersection of colors and adjacent shadows. The colors are selected to be representative of the area; the barn red, the white of the village-green, the Cape Cod yellow of New England, and the pale adobe colors of New Mexico. In all cases, the shadows are included to induce the third dimension.

The paintings are generated from my architectural drawings, which have been surveyed to yield visually stimulating compositions. Colored paper maquettes are made to study the proportions and color relationships. From these paper studies, candidates are culled to be enlarged into paintings. A single building may result in several paintings, which depict its diverse features.

Paintings are also generated from my sculptures. The sides are colored to convey a concept and to represent a particular locale. The sculpture becomes a mandrel, or mannequin, onto which the color system is applied.

The materials of the paintings are hardboard, also called Masonite, and flat interior Benjamin Moore latex paint. The sturdiness recalls the construction of the subjects. The painting is held off the wall three quarters of an inch by the wood 'strainer' on the back. This stiffens the one-eighth inch thick hardboard and supports the hanging wire. The fabrication results in a reveal and a natural shadow.

Malcolm Montague Davis

 

   
450 Harrison Avenue, Suite 313, Boston, MA 02118Tel 617-266-0460 E-mail mmd@malcolmmontaguedavis.comStudio visit by appointment.