About the Artist
Composition is what drives the work of Darrell Davis. His journey in sculpture began after a visit to Brookgreen Gardens, Murrells inlet SC, as a teenager. After receiving a BFA from The University of Texas at Arlington he enrolled in the Graduate School of Architecture’s landscape architecture program. His work has been included in the National Sculpture Society’s Annual Exhibition, the Society of Animal Artists “Art and the animal” tour, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum’s “Birds in art” tour and in an ongoing exhibition at the National Geographical Society in Washington DC. Darrell’s work has been exhibited in museums across the country. Recently installed commissions include the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago, City of Keller TX, City of Cerritos CA, City of Lafayette Indiana and a monument to Charles Fraser for the city of Hilton Head, SC.
In 2013 Darrell was awarded the Gold Medal and Maurice B Hexter prize at the National Sculpture Society 80th Annual Exhibition held at the Tampa Museum of Art and Brookgreen Gardens SC.
Darrell is a signature member of the National Sculpture Society, American Society of Marine Artists, Society of Animal Artists, and California Art Club.
A Blessing of Animals NSS Exhibition in the Cathedral of Saint John the Devine June 10-Sept 10, 2017. NYC
National Sculpture Society 83rd Annual Exhibition; Brookgreen Gardens SC, Aug. 6- Oct. 30, 2016
American Society of Marine Artists Exhibition;
The Muscarelle Museum, Williamsburg, VA – Sept 9 to Dec 2, 2016.
Academy Art Museum, Easton, MD and Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels, MD – Dec. 5, 2016 to April 1, 2017.
Quinlan Visual Arts Center, Gainesville, GA – April 13 to June 3, 2017.
Minnesota Marine Art Museum, Winona, MN – June 24 to Sept. 23, 2017. Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic, CT – Oct. 14, 2017 to Jan. 26, 2018
California Art Club Gold Medal Exhibition; Autry Museum of the American West April 3-24 2016
National Sculpture Sociaty 82nd Annual Exhibition; Brookgreen Gardens SC Aug-Nov 2015.
California Art Club Gold Medal Exhibition; USC Fisher Museum of Art, Los Angeles CA, March 2015.
Art and the Animal, Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum, Oradell NJ; Arizona-Sonora Museum, Tucson AZ; Booth Museum of Western Art, Cartersville GA; Nov 2013 – Sept 2014
Society of Animal Artists Annual exhibition, Bennington Arts Center, Bennington VT, August 2013.
Birds in Art, Woodson Museum of Art, Wausau WI, September 2013
National Sculpture Society 80th Annual Exhibition; Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa FL; Brookgreen Gardens, Pawleys Island SC; May-October 2013
California Art Club Gold Medal Exhibition; Autry Center, Los Angeles CA, April 2012
California Art Club Gold Medal Exhibition; Pasadena Museum of California Art, April 2011
Performance in Art, NSS Exhibition; Straz Center for the Perfoming Arts, Tampa FL; 2011-2013
California Art Club Gold Medal Exhibition; Pasadena Museum of California Art, April 2009.
Art And The Animal- Wildlife Experience, Parker CO, Nov 2008-Feb 2009; Dunnigan Gallery of
Art, Bolivar MO, April-May 2009; San Angelo Museum of Fine Art, San Angelo TX, July-
Aug 2009.
Society of Animal Artists Annual Exhibition; Neville Public Museum, Greenbay WI, Sept 2008.
American Society of Marine Artists Exhibition, Chase Center on the Riverfront, Wilmington, DE. May-June 2008; Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels, MD. July-Sept 2008; Noyes Museum, Atlantic City, NJ. Oct 2008-Feb 2009; Spartanburg Museum of Art, Spartanburg, SC. March-May 2009; New Bedford Art Museum, New Bedford, MA. June-Sept 2009.
California Art Club Gold Medal Exhibition; Pasadena Museum of California Art April 2008.
California Art Club Gold Medal Exhibition; Pasadena Museum of California Art, April 2007.
National Sculpture Society 72nd Annual Exhibition-NYC, 2005; Brookgreen Gardens, Jan.2006
Society of Animal Artists Annual Exhibition – Nevada State Museum, Carson City NV.-2005
Art And The Animal tour-Jan.2006 The Wildlife Experience, Parker, CO. – Apr. 2006 West
Valley Art Museum, Surprise, AZ. – Jun. 2006 Muscarelle Museum Of Art, College of
William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA. –Sep. 2006 Stifel Fine Arts Center, Wheeling,
WV. – Nov. 2006 Neville Public Museum, Green Bay, WI.
National Geographic Society Exhibition – Washington DC, June 2005 – June 2006
National Sculpture Society – “The Sea” – NYC 2005
Society of Animal Artists Annual Exhibition- Hiram Blauvelt Museum of Art, Oradell, NJ 2004
Art and the Animal tour- Jan.2005 Lakeview Museum of Art, Peoria, IL.- April 2005 West Valley Art Museum,Surprise,AZ. – June 2005 Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural
History, Norman, OK. – Nov. 2005 University Of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, NE.
– Jan. 2006 The Art Institute at Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ.
Birds in Art- Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, 2004.
Birds in Art 2004 tour- Dec. 2004 James Ford Bell Museum of Natural History, Minneapolis, MN.- April 2005 Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ.- July 2005 Wendell Gilley Museum of Art, Southwest Harbor, ME.
American Society of Marine Artists Exhibition, Vero Museum of Art, Vero Beach, Florida- April 2004.
National Sculpture Society- Wings of Hope Wings of Peace- NYC 2003.
Society of Animal Artists Annual Exhibition- Hiram Blauvelt Museum of Art, NYC 2003
Wildlife Experience, Denver CO- 2004
Sculpture at the River Market, Little Rock, Arkansas- 2016,15,14,13,12,11,10.
Sculpture in the Park, Loveland High Plains Art Council – Loveland, Colorado – 2015,08,05,04,03,02,01,00,1999,96,95.
Sculpture in the South, Summerville, SC. 2012, 09,08,07,06,05,04, 03. Southeastern Wildlife Art Expo, Charleston, South Carolina- 2001, 2000,1999,98,97,96 Loredo Taft Society National Sculpture Show, Urbana, Illinois –2001, 1999.
Waterfowl Festival, Easton, Maryland – 2000, 1999. Cypress Gardens ‘ Wildlife Sculpture Series IV – Cypress Gardens, Florida – 1998.
2014 Veterans Memorial, Watauga TX.
2013 Gold Medal / Maurice B. Hexter prize, National Sculpture Society 80th Annual Exhibition. 2012 Wherever He Wants, Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden, Little Rock AR.
2011 Change of Direction, Vogel Schwartz Sculpture Garden, Little Rock AR.
2011 Roundabout Commission, Southlake TX
2010 Monument to Charles Fraser, Compas Rose Park, Hilton Head SC.
2009 Heron Fountain, Ingleside at Rock Creek, Rockville MD.
2008 Veterans Memorial, Veterans Memorial Park, Keller TX.
2007 Columbian Park Zoo, Lafayette IN. 7 lifesize commissions
2005 Tallix Prize, National Sculpture Society 72nd annual Exhibition, NYC.
2005 Flying Heron, City of Keller TX.
2005 Heron and the Sun, Azalea Park, Summerville, SC.
2004 Sculpture Award of Merit, American Society of Marine Artists.
2004 Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago IL. West Gate Project; Monumental Black Bears.
2003 WCI resort Palm Beach, Florida, Flying Heron installed.
2002 Frisco, TX, monumental commission “Waiting for the rails”,
2002 Gaithersburg, MD, Installation of Heron and the Sun.
2000 Dallas Zoo, Sixty three piece life-sized commission, Lacertte Family Children’s Zoo.
1996 Presidents Award -American Artists Professional League, New York, New York.. 1995 Dorris Brunner Rosser Award for Sculpture, 10th Annual Bosque Conservatory of Fine Arts
Competition. 1994 Purchase of “Pondering Chimpanzee” by the Loveland Sculpture Group for donation to the
city of Loveland Colorado’s permanent outdoor sculpture collection. 1993 Medal of Honor for Sculpture, American Artist Professional League, 64th Annual Grand
National Exhibit- New York, New York.
Elected Professional Memberships National Sculpture Society
California Art Club
The American Society of Marine Artist
Society of Animal Artists
National Sculptors Guild
Darrell Davis was born in 1962 in rural west Texas but spent his early years in the Los Angeles area. From these two disparate worlds, Davis’ love of seeming contradiction emerged. Those diverse experiences and viewpoints were seeds that play out magnificently in his work today and he strives to learn, grow and push this envelope in every new piece.
In a style that he and a few of his contemporaries lovingly refer to as impatient realism, he touches his audience. Combining the softness, fluidity and grace of his living subjects with the clean hard geometric, all while maintaining structure and composition, he manages to meld the two into something more powerful and impactful.
“I love the idea of mixing the geometric, almost architectural shapes, with that of the free flowing organic. There is just something about sharp geometric lines juxtaposed with the organic curvilinear lines of nature that intrigues me of late.”
“I guess its really an attempt to mesh the man-made world with the natural world. It’s a conundrum that I’m intrigued with abstraction and that of traditional realism. A large amount of abstraction is much too cold and dehumanizing, while a large amount of contemporary realism is simply stiff modeling of a subject. I fight to avoid both of those traps in my compositions. Sometimes you succeed and sometimes you don’t.”
In the end, to me, the art of sculpture is all about balance, mass, composition, and gravity.”
Darrell’s amazing ability to utilize convergent scientific thinking with the more divergent thinking traditionally associated with art produces works that affect both the right and left brain providing a pleasing balance.
Davis was recently awarded the National Sculpture Society’s Gold Medal and Maurice B. Hexter prize at its 80th annual Exhibition held at the Tampa Museum of Art and Brookgreen Gardens. Davis is an elected member of the National Sculpture Society, California Art Club, American Society of Marine Artists, and Society of Animal Artists.
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