Dan Pyle

Dan Pyle

Dan Pyle (2012)
Born (1954-04-04) April 4, 1954
Wolf Point, U.S.
Nationality American
Known for Painting
Movement Contemporary realism

Dan Pyle (born April 4, 1954 in Wolf Point, Montana) is an American artist and a representative of Contemporary Realism. He works mainly in charcoal and his drawings highlight figurative objects in general and the human body in particular.[1]

Life

Career and artistic influence

Weary Traveller (2014)

Dan Pyle was born in Wolf Point, Montana and grew up in Washington State. He is a descendant of the war correspondent Ernie Pyle. Dan Pyle has been drawing since his childhood and was awarded for his works early on. However, his artistic career began as a dancer with the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, and was substantially influenced by his admiration for black and white photography. This cross fertilization is where his specific artistic style developed.[2] Moreover, Pyle’s work is marked by contrasts and the special light of a Jan Vermeer and a William Turner. Thematically, the human body with its muscles, shapes and movements are at the forefront of his work, which he is able to present authentically and expressively as a former ballet dancer.[3] After moving to California, Dan Pyle settled in West Hollywood, developing his detailed technique with new and unconventional materials.[4]

Style and techniques

Lost in the Moment (2008)

Pyle's media initially include paintings in oil and acrylic, and, during a later period, murals for public spaces. After several phases, in which he also experimented with and ink and pencil, as well as pastels and watercolors, Pyle finally found the charcoal as the medium of his choice.[5]

In addition to focusing on the human body there are unexpected and aged objects that he transforms into his charcoal compositions. So, in addition to living figures, old teapots to rusted motorcycles become his models to which he gives a new identity through the use of contrast, negative space and isolation. The anonymity that his art is reflecting are subject and intention at the same time.[6]

Crushed (2014)

Pyle's technique with shadows and light seems to make the presence of color superfluous. So only a few of his works show deliberately weak color characteristics.[7] Even in his current phase, the artist shows himself adventurous and works e.g. with formats on wood. The substrate with its idiosyncratic structures gives his drawings an additional dimension.[8]

When editing his works Pyle aims to include negative space which isolates the subject of the drawing. His original compositions are already in his mind's eye, and the photography helps Pyle to capture the exact vision that he wants to realize. By avoiding a final photographic sharpness, Pyle's work breaks away from photorealism and takes on its own interpretation of modern realism.[9]

Exhibitions

Dan Pyle's works are exhibited primarily in the US and increasingly in Europe. With 23 images, the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas owns one of the largest private collections.[10] Other exhibitions were held in West Hollywood, Palm Springs, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Hollywood, Santa Ana, Long Beach, Provincetown and New York, and now also in Asia.[11]

Honors and awards (selection)

Bibliography

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dan Pyle.
  1. ↑ Art-to-Art Palette 08/2013, p. 1-4
  2. ↑ Art Galleries Los Angeles, Artist Interview 2014
  3. ↑ Art of Man, edition 16 dated January 24, 2014, p. 30
  4. ↑ Art Galleries Los Angeles, Artist Interview 2014
  5. ↑ Art-to-Art Palette 08/2013
  6. ↑ Art Galleries Los Angeles, Artist interview 2014
  7. ↑ Art-to-Art Palette 08/2013
  8. ↑ Art Galleries Los Angeles, Artist Interview 2014
  9. ↑ Scott Brassart, in: The Bottom Line Magazine, Palm Springs 2008
  10. ↑ Art-to-Art Palette 08/2013
  11. ↑ Art of Man, edition 16 dated January 24, 2014, p. 27
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