2023 visual artist
David Provan
Numbers correspond to exhibition map
On Grounds
3. Big Fandango, 2016–2023, powder-coated steel, 144” x 48” x 48”
4. The Inability of the Radius to Know the Circumference, 2012, powder-coated steel, 59” x 38” x 23”
12. Theory of the Sacred IV, 2011, powder-coated steel, 123” x 42” x 24”
10. Shunyata Piñata, 2021, corten steel, 77” x 30” x 28”
11. Ohhvoid, 2022, corten steel, 49” x 76” 22”
Statement
I was first introduced to the idea of a Dualistic Universe when I was instructed in the Dorje Sempa meditation, a meditation that visualizes the interlocking of the Male and Female principles. Chinese Taoists also address this concept via the Tai-Chi or Yin-Yang symbol. Once I was aware of this interpretation of the world as a “Great Elaboration of Paired Opposites,” I saw it EVERYWHERE. . . in the flow of the seasons, in the basics of computer programming, in the conflicts between ideologies, etc. In graduate school, this sense of balanced opposites began to appear in my sculpture. I made objects that modeled the ideas of presence & absence, authenticity & simulation and so on. Over the years my understanding of this polarity has become more focused and, at the same time, has expanded into multiple subsets, exploring such areas as Birth & Death, Figure & Ground, Form & Emptiness. In my sculpture practice I’ve found that metal—steel, bronze, and aluminum—due to its strength and versatility, is my optimal medium for probing and demonstrating these ideas. Additionally, I have a particular fondness for corten steel, a material that reminds us, through its rusty patina, that everything eventually falls apart.
About David Provan
In his early twenties, David Provan apprenticed as a carpenter in Japan, building houses in the Tokyo/Yokohama area. This first exposure to finely crafted construction led him, a decade later, to study architecture and painting at Yale. After Japan, however, he chose to follow his interests in Buddhism and yoga, and re-located to India and Nepal for the next two and a half years. A large part of that time he spent as an ordained monk in a monastery near Kathmandu, studying and meditating under the guidance of a renowned Tibetan Rinpoche. Returning to the west, he received a BA from Yale and a MA from the Royal College of Art, in London. Over time, his interests in art, architecture, and Asian philosophy coalesced into a passion for producing sculptural objects that explore the patterns and tendencies of the universe. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including shows at Grace Borgenicht Gallery, NY; Mindy Oh Gallery, Chicago; Wenger Gallery, Los Angeles; the Fitchburg Art Museum, Fitchburg, MA; galleries in the Hudson Valley; and the Seoul Metropolitan Museum of Art, Korea. His work has been published in numerous publications including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Art in America, Metropolis Magazine, as well as being featured on CNN and ABC Eyewitness News. In 1988, he received a Pollock/Krasner grant and in 1995 he was awarded a commission for a permanent sculpture installation in the New York Subway. He currently lives and works in Cold Spring, NY. davidprovan.com