Verne Dawson (b. 1955, Meridianville, AL) delves into heady topics concerning culture and nature, interlacing the present with the ancient past. His works cite a history of stories, symbols, and belief systems. Dawson’s work maintains a focus on timekeeping and the structures that have governed human lives. He depicts chimeric landscapes and cosmological scenes with a style that oscillates between Bosch and faux-naïf. Dawson’s formidable subjects are depicted with verdant, loose brushstrokes, and blend portraits, landscapes, still lifes, and abstraction—merging science and fantasy to create timeless images that convey the history of the relationship between humanity and the natural world.
Read MoreDawson studied at The Cooper Union School of Art, New York and the Art Student‘s League of New York. Recent solo exhibitions include Gavin Brown’s enterprise (2019); Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin (2016); Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Zurich (2015); and Victoria Miro, London (2013). Dawson has been featured at the Yokohama Triennial (2011); the Whitney Biennial (2010); the Lyon Biennial (2006); and the Venice Biennial (2003).
Text courtesy Karma.
Ugo Rondinone: I ♥ John Giorno —the first major U.S. exhibition about the American poet, artist, activist and muse John Giorno—has opened simultaneously across 13 locations in New York City. _I ♥ J
Read More
I learned early on from the eats, such as Allen Ginsburg and William Burroughs—and the Pop artists too—that archives were very important. This was around the late 1950s, or the beginning of the '60s
Read More
