David Derr

I was born in the spring of 1954 in North West, NJ.I started drawing at a very early age due to the influence of a German woman and her son who lived next door to us. I have continued my interest in art and now work in the media of painting, mixed media on paper, digital paintings, photography and music.I believe that humanities major talent is making symbols. We have been this way since the beginnings of our existence as a race. It is the reason we have a written language, music, painting, sculpture, dance, mathematics, the sciences and our entire civilization. This is the cornerstone of what it is to be a thinking human being. My painting, mixed media and digital works are his explorations into the creative spirit. The visual arts, music, dance, literature, myths, mysticism, spirituality and the sciences as well as everyday life all contribute in the creation of my images. Good paintings and drawings present subjects that engage the heart and soul on levels that words cannot. This is what visual artists do best, we create unique visual languages, languages that can convey layers of emotion and meaning at a glance through color, shape, form and line. This layering of imagery, sometimes opposite in emotion, engages the viewer to look deeper into their own souls to find the depths to each piece that are may not be initially apparent. Because of this layering many viewers see images in my paintings that were not consciously created, as if some mystical force was leading my hand during the creation of a work adding even more depth to the imagery. For me drawing and painting is about creating a space where both the creator and the viewers creative thoughts are set free to explore unexpected paths.

The Art Students League, NY, NY

Art Expo 1999

PUBLICATIONS
Daily Record (Feature Article 2015)
DY Magazine
NY Arts
Gallery and Studio Magazine
Beatles Art, Boxagami Books,
Eunomia, Australian Senate Newsletter
Photoshop User,
Digital Fine Arts Magazine
Branches Quarterly
Moondance.org
NY Times
Verizon Fios (Feature on Play/Pause)

SELECTED AWARDS
Adobe Digital Imaging Competition, HR
Refocus Now, 1st Place
Int’l. Digital Mural Competition, 2nd Place
NY Art Director’s Club, HR
Northeast Art Festival, Winners Circle
Janus: God of the Doorway, 1st Place
Double Visions, Best in Show and 2nd Place

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS

The Moon Ark (lunar lander), Carnegie Mellon
5th International Festival of NanoArt, Heraklion, Greece
4th International Festival of NanoArt, San Sebastian, Spain
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Painted Violin
2nd International Festival of NanoArt, Stuttgart, Germany
Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, NJ
Monkdogz Gallery, Chelsea, NY, NY
ADP Corp. Center, Roseland, NJ
European Council of International Schools, Nice, France
Berlex Labs Corp. Centers, Wayne and Montville, NJ
Schering-Plough Corp. Center, Madison, NJ
Nabisco Corp. Center, Hanover, NJ
Union Camp Corp. Headquarters, Wayne, NJ
Morris Museum, Morristown, NJ
Bergen Museum of Arts & Sciences, Paramus, NJ
Paterson, Museum, Paterson, NJ
Pace University, New York, NY
Seton Hall Law School, Newark, NJ
Fairleigh Dickinson University, Hackensack, NJ
International Digital Open, London, UK
About Vision, London, UK
Once in a Blue Moon, Studio 4 West, Piermont, NY
Space 4 Gallery, Chelsea, NY
Pliedes Gallery 16th Annual Juried Exhibition
Juror Ivan Karp, OK Harris Gallery
44th Annual Art of the Northeast USA,
Silvermine, New Canaan CT
Juror: Holly Soloman, Soloman Gallery, NY, NY
Art Expo, New York, NY
Children’s Specialized Hospital, Westfield, NJ
NY Theological Seminary, NY, NY
Pandora’s Box, Williams Center for the Arts
Rutherford, NJ