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David Solomon was born in 1976 in Kingston, New York, and studied at the San Francisco Art Institute. Solomon is one of the most active artists now emerging from Santa Fe's art community; his work has shown in art fairs, and exhibitions around the country, including David Richard Contemporary, and Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe, Peter Marcelle Gallery in Bridgehampton NY, Dean Jenson Gallery in Milwaukee, and Brown Art Space in San Francisco.

"David Solomon has been an active member of the Santa Fe art community for the 11 years he has lived here, as both a painter and an independent curator," writes Jan Ernst Adimann in Art in America magazine, Feb 2012. "His latest exhibition demonstrated not only his artistic maturity but also his consistent drive toward pictorial originality."

"Solomon continues to map inner territories of the imagination through an idiosyncratic synthesis of figurative inferences and abstract expression," writes Jon Carver, Art Ltd Magazine, Jan/Feb 2012

"The artist's forte is the depiction of space without defining it," writes Kathryn M Davis in THE Magazine, May 2010. "He likes to suggest dimensionality without showing it, thus enticing the viewer to engage. Once the vocabulary of lyrical abstraction and symbolism emerges, the playfulness of the forms becomes clearer, while their significance deepens.”

Life
Solomon’s education in art is an organic blend of life and formal experiences. His father, who had attended Parsons The New School for Design in New York, would often engage young David in tandem doodling sessions. His artist grandmother took him to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where the eight-year-old stood, dwarfed, in front of a Jackson Pollock gestural painting, and the impact was unmistakable. Growing up in Florida, swamps and scrapyards became a playground for Solomon's inquisitive mind and provided endless hours of study. An avid reader, he also developed a deep respect for the occult and mysticism and a longing for the natural environment in Florida; all of these elements remain evident in his work.

At the first opportunity, Mr. Solomon traveled west, and then worked as studio assistant to John Henry Waddell, sculptor laureate of Arizona. Solomon then attended the San Francisco Art Institute and worked as studio assistant to pre-eminent abstract expressionist Bay Area painter Frank Lobdell, before returning to the Southwest. Solomon is published in Lobdell's monograph in the photo chronology with the artist in his studio.

“For nearly a decade, David Solomon has been assimilating the fresh air, extraordinary light, and magical visual spirit of Santa Fe,” writes long-time friend Bruce Helander. “He has meticulously mixed these inspirational components together, producing remarkably simple and well-balanced works which seem to celebrate his unique style and sensibility for organic shapes that are locked together within rhythmic and often colorful compositions.”

Solomon has also served as a independent curator within the contemporary arts community of Santa Fe, helping to stimulate a more vibrant and supportive atmosphere for the city’s many contemporary artists.