Daniel Ketelhut: “Figmented Reality”

Opened:

January 8, 2023


On View Through:

March 5, 2023


Browse Show Catalog
Daniel Ketelhut - Keepers of the Flame (Detail)
Daniel Ketelhut - Jovian Ecstasy
Daniel Ketelhut - Primal Dreamscape
Daniel Ketelhut - Deep Forest Birdsong
Sweet Life Daniel Ketelhut
Daniel Ketelhut Conditioned Arising

Sparks Gallery’s programming in 2023 will explore the theme and concept of “Imagination” from exhibited and represented artists at the gallery. The artists will bring their visions and dreams to life through their craft and process, often using abstraction, mixed media elements, and layering.  San Diego artist Daniel Ketelhut kicks off 2023 with his solo exhibition, “Figmented Reality”.

From the Artist:

Figmented Reality is a group of oil paintings, most of which were completed within the past 18 months.  The imagery in the paintings are figments of my imagination – manifestations of subconscious articulations of shape and form.  The figments are born in the matrix of the sketchbook, in which masses of chaotic scribbles are alchemically transmuted into articulable forms.  In a series of preparatory studies, they then go through a sort of adolescent phase – a fuller development of line, form, value and color. The paintings themselves represent their final maturation – completed, but, like all living things, ripe with potential for further growth and change, which ultimately takes place in the mind of the viewer.

Born of my lifelong fascination of the strange and fantastic, I see these figments as living beings – bizarre, otherworldly entities.  Their biomorphic shapes and forms, inexact and uncertain of final structure, suggest the ever changing nature of reality and of our perceptions thereof.  The layered, often drippy paint, applied as transparent glazes and opaque scumbles, adds to the mutability of the scene.  During the process of creation, the series has evolved organically through experimentation of technique and paint handling.  The paintings are given evocative, open-ended titles based on how I perceive the piece and draw on my own life experience – often inspired by song lyrics and poetic lines – filtered through my own imagination.

The series invites the viewer to bring his or her own perceptions to each piece and, with open sensibilities, allow the imagery to let them experience their own figmented reality.


Daniel Ketelhut graduated in 1990 from San Diego State University with a BA in Art, emphasis in studio art, and was recognized with distinction in his major. He currently resides in San Diego, California. 

The otherworldly subject matter of his imaginative, colorful paintings is largely self-generated and speaks to unconscious longings and motivations. In addition to his formal education, Ketelhut is self-taught, which he considers to be just as important. His work has been seen in several solo exhibitions as well as numerous group shows both locally and nationally. His work is included in both national and international private collections.

Ketelhut’s works will be on view at Sparks Gallery from January 8 – March 5, 2023  with an opening reception on Sunday, January 8, 2023.



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