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Artist's Statement

My work of late, it seems, has taken two divergent paths-the brightly-colored stoneware vessel and the raku sculptural form. The stoneware vessels are such that I refer to them as sculptural vessels. Even though they are "functional," I approach the development of their forms as works of sculpture. Some are reminiscent of urns, chalices, and reliquaries-vessels created for solemn and high ceremonial use. These vessels, however, along with oversized teapots and other such forms, shed their solemity while assuming the appearance of lighthearted animation. They stand, pose, and may even appear to dance on bulbous feet, and at their tops, resting on cylindrical necks, are high, domed lids crowned with globular finials. Curly, sinuous handles often extend down the sides to add a sense of elegance. The vessels contain handbuilt or wheel-thrown elements, or combinations of the two, all of which are clearly articulated.

Although the vessels are fully three-dimensional, their flat, colorful imagery emphasizes the two-dimensional nature of the sides. Overlapping and penetrating planes are outlined in black and filled with flat color or colored patterns. The lines and shapes of the imagery sometimes repeat and sometimes contradict the lines and shapes of the vessels themselves. The whimsical imagery - Mannerist women with wild, upswept hair, orange, striped cats, goldfish, birds and vases of flowers - endows the vessels with humorous, playful personalities.

In sharp contrast, the raku series possesses entirely different qualities, both in technique and appearance. Each form, a four-sided sculpture, embodies the essence of trees, constructed entirely from slabs of clay. The surface possibilities inherent with the raku process allow for dramatic contrasts in color and texture - the metallic lusters of the raku glazes play against the flat, matte black of the unglazed areas. I do not draw or paint images on these forms, but keep the surfaces relatively simple, since the forms themselves are complex with their interplay of positive and negative spaces. Some of the trees are glazed on the outside with the inside unglazed black, which conveys the impression of light reflecting off the surface of a dark forest. Others are glazed on the inside with the outside unglazed black, which suggests fire or light emanating from a forest's interior. Others are glazed both on the inside and outside, which is reminiscent of trees ablaze with color. All trees are leafless. Starkness of form and the dominant presence of flat, unreflective black evoke feelings present in late nineteenth - century Symbolist paintings - loneliness, introspection, and the awareness of mortality.

Biography

David was born in the Mississippi Delta region of Northeast Arkansas and has lived most of his life there. He has been a ceramic artist since 1973. His art work has been shown in competitive and invitational exhibitions in Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri, Louisiana, Illinois, New York, and Washington, D.C. He is currently exhibiting in galleries in Memphis, St. Louis, Chicago, and New York City, and one of his pieces represents Lawrence County, Arkansas, in an exhibition of art from Arkansas' First Congressional District displayed in the Washington, D.C. office of Congressman Marion Berry. Midkiff's work can be found in numerous private and corporate collections across the United States and abroad.

Midkiff holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Central Arkansas, and a Master of Arts and Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi. A longtime educator, he taught art from 1974-1986 at Hoxie, Arkansas, Public School and has taught art and chaired the Art Department at Williams College, near Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, since 1987. In 2005, he received the Arkansas Art Educators 2005 Higher Education Art Educator of the Year Award given in appreciation of distinguished service in the field of art education in Arkansas.

Midkiff and his wife, Sheri, an English professor, live in Portia, Arkansas. Their son, Joseph, is a photojournalist, and daughter-in-law, Sarah, a photographer, live in New York City.

Recent Selected Exhibitions

Mix of Styles, I, Compônere Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri 2009

Year Round Salon, Ward-Nasse Gallery, New York, New York 2009

Abstract Frame of Mind, Compônere Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri 2006

Holiday Show, Sara Howell Gallery, Jonesboro, Arkansas 2006

10 x 10 x All, Blue Moon Gallery, Hot Springs, Arkansas 2007

Alumni Art Juried Exhibit, The University of Mississippi, Oxford, Mississippi 2005

Updated: 2009.09.01

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