Altamira Fine Art in Scottsdale, AZ is pleased to present an exhibition of new work by David Frederick Riley January 14-25, 2025.
Please join us for a Reception and Meet the Artist during the ArtWalk on Thursday, January 16th from 7-9pm.
“When I paint animals, I try to paint them with the character of the animal, but individual enough to capture a mood or emotion. It's my aim to have their spirit reach out to the viewer and interact.” - David Frederick Riley
Supranatural
In his latest body of work, David Frederick Riley draws inspiration from his first- hand experience with, and reverence for, the wildlife he sees living and painting in Midway, Utah. David and his wife, also an artist, live minutes from Wasatch Mountain State Park where wildlife sightings are common. For the paintings he created in Supranatural, David says, “I wanted to represent the animals in a very realistic manner, however I also wanted to push the interaction between the viewer and the subject of the painting. I'm using soft colors, but the variation of warms and cools create a vibrant feel. They almost glow with a surrealist light.” The abstract backgrounds weave into the subject and help loosen the edges, giving the feeling of the animal emerging from the ether. This ethereal quality has become a signature of the artist’s work.
Riley’s new exhibition focuses on color and mark-making more heavily than any show he’s done to date. The result is a dynamic group of paintings that are very arresting in person. The animal’s eye contact makes one stop and engage. “It's my aim to have their spirit reach out to the viewer and interact. The added color was a fun exploration for me. I frequently paint with neutrals or even monochromatic schemes, so letting loose and painting more vibrantly was quite exciting.”, Riley says. The color's vibration illustrates the vibration of the energy in the animals he paints. “I hope after viewing this show, collectors feel a sense of mysticism and recall how awe-inspiring our natural world is. It's intended to remind us of the beauty of our shared, manifested world, and how the spiritual and natural can be felt all at once-Supranatural.”
Riley has a BFA and MFA in Fine Art from the Savannah College of Art and Design, where he was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award. After a ten-year career in illustration and teaching for Colorado Mesa University, he and his family now reside in Utah, where he teaches and paints. His work has appeared in Western Art and Architecture Magazine, Western Art Collector and Southwest Art Magazine. Riley was recently a finalist in the Art Renewal Center's Annual Salon, Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, and was in the top 100 finalists in London's BP Portrait Award.
Pre-sales are available. Contact the gallery for details, 480-949-1256/ az@altamiraart.com.
