Dan Crawford

Dan Crawford lives and has a studio in Toronto. He is a visual arts graduate of Western and taught art at various schools in London and Toronto. He has exhibited in regional public and private galleries in Ontario. Collections include Museum London, Western University, McDonald’s Canada and private collections in Canada, USA, Great Britain, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia.

The still life is used as a visual metaphor to investigate ideas in paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture in various media. This series are paintings and mixed media works. Selecting everyday objects in carefully considered compositions allows explorations in media/technique and contrasts, light/dark, transparent/opaque, scale, colour and texture.

The narrative element can originate from an actual experience, sometimes through travel, history or imagination. A dialogue is created between the objects and the setting so a story is conveyed beyond the outward appearance of the objects. Contrasting the objects and setting with the window covering creates a juxtaposition with different meaning.

The basic composition is a window with a covering and objects to create images that have a visual presence with the first viewing but still allow for the opportunity for individual interpretation and understanding.

Fidelity to what is observed and experienced is one way to represent things in the world but this is only the beginning. After scratching away at the surface of representation the intent is to get below the surface where the power of the idea, the intellect and emotional response meet.