Artist Statement

For over thirty years as a practicing artist, I have viewed the world as a realist.  It has always been the straight forwardness of representational painting that has engaged me.  Believing, as Oscar Wilde stated….”the true mystery of the world is the visible”.

As a young artist, I was influenced by Marcel Duchamp, along with Minimalism’s concept of the specific object and Pop Art’s use of common imagery.  There is an element of industrial process to my selection of images.  I make paintings of things people look at everyday, but don’t necessarily see.  They are what I call icons of expendability. 

I would like my works to interface seamlessly with everyday associations, and not look like art.  Conceptually I am interested in the duality and dilemmas between function and use, ornament and purpose. 
I ultimately paint what interests me, therefore allowing the activity to remain fresh and vital.

Dan Douke

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