David Schell

November 4, 2019

Portland artist David Schell makes paintings that utilize simple color and abstract forms to convey a discrete affect in each piece. His work is painterly with a strong sense of play and joy. The bright hues lend a sense of exuberance, and each piece abides by its own rules. "I'm really interested in a temporary sense of stability," he says, "something looking like it's coming together and has a logic all its own."

Lightning (with purple and mint), oil on canvas, 2019

It Never Lasts Forever, oil on canvas, 2016

It Never Lasts Forever emanates redness: heat and passion. But passion is transitory and the bit of yellow in the middle is a sign of the redness beginning to cool. The form itself is provisional, improvisational, organic—like something built in the heat of the moment.

Tempest (mild mannered), oil on canvas, 2019

A Decorative Object #10, oil on canvas, 2018

A Decorative Object #10 shows us a janky striped construction that's leaning like it might topple over. "I want the images that I work with to look like they could fall apart at any moment," David says. Indeed, the tension between stability and disintegration is achieved here as the composition seems frozen mid-movement.

Scrunch, oil on canvas, 2018

Scrunch is a painting in mostly primaries, accented by an otherworldly mint green in the center. The form is made by a series of zig-zagging stripes, some (but not all) of which cast a shadow. The piece conveys an affect of pressure or crumpling although there's nothing weighing it down except for the top edge of canvas.

Slump, oil on panel, 2016

David is fresh off a solo show at Augen gallery in Portland and was just included in the 2019 Biennale of Reductive and Non-Objective Art in Sydney, Australia. Give him a follow on Instagram to see what's next! @schell_david