Frank Juarez
The last time I saw Michael was probably two and half years ago and seeing his work in person was May 26, 2018. When I received notice that he was going to have a solo exhibition at the Caestecker Art Gallery in Ripon, I knew I had to go.
I have always enjoyed listening to Michael talk about his work, ideas, and explorations. For every exhibition, he presents new work and his talks reflect it, which are insightful, honest, and engaging. They make you think about art, life, and our place in the [art] world.
Before his talk, I got a sneak peek of his exhibition, More Scenes From “Our Addictions to Fictions”.
About More Scenes From “Our Addictions to Fictions”
Stacking influences and ideas from incredibly diverse sources, Davidson interrogates his watercolors. This excavation is done through techniques of addition and subtraction, through a variety of means of imparting colored viscous fluids to a flat surface- both direct and indirect. This process often involves forays from analog to digital and back to explore possibilities and assist a given work’s often circuitous investigation.
Imagined as scenes, transitions, sets, and singular moments in an epic and ongoing fictional theatrical production, Davidson’s paintings operate between the specific and the obscure. The veils of paint form a scaffolding of convincingness and a sensual believable landscape. Yet, simultaneously, these are paintings whose symphonic curiosity constantly flirts with incessantly questioning doubt. These paintings amplify the role of the artist as conjurer of both the real and the elusive. “Art is a critically important refuge for mystery, art gives mystery a place to live.” Source: https://ripon.edu/caestecker-gallery/
If you go
More Scenes From “Our Addictions to Fictions”: New and Recent Paintings by Michael Davidson
Caestecker Gallery, Ripon College
300 W. Steward Street, Ripon, Wisconsin 54971
September 3 – October 14, 2021
“Our Addictions to Fictions”. New and recent paintings by Michael Davidson. 
Our Addictions to Fictions”. New and recent paintings by Michael Davidson. 
Our Addictions to Fictions”. New and recent paintings by Michael Davidson. 
Our Addictions to Fictions”. New and recent paintings by Michael Davidson. 
Our Addictions to Fictions”. New and recent paintings by Michael Davidson. 
Our Addictions to Fictions”. New and recent paintings by Michael Davidson. 
Our Addictions to Fictions”. New and recent paintings by Michael Davidson. 
Our Addictions to Fictions”. New and recent paintings by Michael Davidson. 
Our Addictions to Fictions”. New and recent paintings by Michael Davidson. 
Our Addictions to Fictions”. New and recent paintings by Michael Davidson. 
Our Addictions to Fictions”. New and recent paintings by Michael Davidson. 
Our Addictions to Fictions”. New and recent paintings by Michael Davidson. 
Our Addictions to Fictions”. New and recent paintings by Michael Davidson. 
Our Addictions to Fictions”. New and recent paintings by Michael Davidson.
