David Kroll

David Kroll is a still life and landscape painter with studios in Washington State and Mexico. Originally from northern Indiana, Kroll received his BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute (1980) and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (1986). He lived and painted for many years in Chicago, where he taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, before moving to the Pacific Northwest in 2002. His work has been widely published and appears in numerous private and public collections.

STATEMENT

I paint personal refuges and interior landscapes - places to visit for solace and sanctuary. Much of my work is intuitive. I try to create a connection – however fleeting - between the viewer and the power of landscape, the web of life, the idea of nature itself.

I think about the natural world not as an expendable resource but as a past home, once abandoned and forgotten, now the subject of our longing and our dreams.  Increasingly what remains is an idea or memory of nature, rather than nature itself.  My paintings are also about contrast- the contrast between light and dark, movement and stillness, civilization and wilderness. These have beencentral themes of my work for many years

 My blank canvases are approached without a predefined image and the painting is developed in a slow, organic way. Painting in refined layers allows me to explore the narrative and emotional content of each composition over time. Using this method, I try to express why a sunset fills us with wonder, why a certain quality of light can make a busy day suddenly still, and why the momentary sound of a bird call can seem - for that instant - like the most important thing in the world.     

RESUME

Education                                         

1984-86                         M.F.A., The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL. Concentration: Painting and Drawing. 

 1977-80                         B.F.A., San Francisco Art Institute. San Francisco, CA. Concentration: Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking.        

1976-77                       The Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, MD. Concentration: Painting and Drawing.

One Person Exhibitions

2016                             Woodside/Braseth Gallery, Seattle

                                     Littlejohn Contemporary, New York

                                     Hidell Brooks Gallery, Charlotte, North Carolina

2015                             Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago

                                     Cumberland Gallery, Nashville

2014                             Hidell Brooks Gallery, Charlotte, North Carolina

                                     Littlejohn Contemporary, New York, NY

2013                             Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL

                                     Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle

2012                             Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN.

2011                              Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA.

2011                              Littlejohn Contemporary, New York, NY.

2011                              Lisa Sette Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ.

2010                              Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO.

2010                              Hidell/ Brooks Gallery, Charlotte, NC.

2009                             Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA.

2009                             Littlejohn Contemporary, New York, NY.

2008                             Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL.

2008                             Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN.

2008                             Hidell/Brooks Gallery, Charlotte, NC.

2007                             Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA.

2007                             Robischon Gallery, Denver, CO.

2007                             Lisa Sette Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ

2006                             Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL

2006                             Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN.

2006                             Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle,WA.

2005                             Littlejohn Contemporary, New York, NY

2005                             Hidell/ Brooks Gallery, Charlotte, NC.

2005                             Lisa Sette Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ.

2005                              Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI.

2004                             "Painted Ceramic Vessels" Clarke House Museum, Chicago,IL

2004                             Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago,IL.

2004                              Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN.                                                       

2004                              Littlejohn Contemporary, New York, NY.            

2003                              Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA.

2003                              Hidell/Brooks Gallery, Charlotte, NC.

2003                               Lisa Sette Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ.

2003                               Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN.

2002                               Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL. (catalog)

2002                               Littlejohn Contemporary Art, New York, NY.

2002                               Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN.

2001                                Hidell/Brooks Gallery, Charlotte, NC.

2001                                Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle,WA.

2001                                Lisa Sette Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ.

2001                               Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR.(catalog)

2000                              Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL.

2000                             Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN.

2000                             Littlejohn Contemporary Art, New York, NY.

1999                             Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA.

1999                             Lisa Sette Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ.

1998                             Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL.(catalog)

1998                             Littlejohn Contemporary Art, New York, NY.

1997                             Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA.

1997                             Lisa Sette Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ.

1997                             Littlejohn Contemporary Art, New York,NY.

1996                             Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL.

1996                             Littlejohn Contemporary Art, New York, NY.

1996                             Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA.

1996                             Lisa Sette Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ.

1995                             Littlejohn/Sternau Gallery, New York, NY.

1995                             Betsy Rosenfield Gallery, Art Fair/ Seattle,Seattle,WA.

1994                             Betsy Rosenfield Gallery, Chicago, IL.

1994                             Littlejohn/Sternau Gallery, New York, NY.

1993                             Betsy Rosenfield Gallery, Chicago, IL.

1992                             Jamison/Thomas Gallery, New York, NY.

1991                             Betsy Rosenfield Gallery, Chicago, IL.(catalog).

1989                             Betsy Rosenfield Gallery, Chicago, IL.

1988                             N.A.M.E. Gallery, Chicago, IL.

1985                             The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.

Selected Group Exhibitions

2017                             "The Professors", Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN

2016                              “Vashon Artists Invitational,” Vashon Center for the Arts, Vashon Island, Washington

2015                              “Stilleven,” Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Willamette University, Salem, Oregon

2014                             “Modern Metaphors”, Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL.

2013                             “First Light: Regional Group Exhibition”, Bainbridge Island Museum of Art,Bainbridge Island, WA.                              

2012                             “Eastern Traditions-Western Expressions”, Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID.

                                    “New Art For The New Century”, Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI.

2011                             “Earth Matters”, Seattle Art Museum Gallery, Seattle, WA.

                                    “Exchanges”, Tanner-Hill Gallery, Chattanooga, TN.

2010                             “Surface Tension, Tradition and Innovation in Contemporary Painting”, South Bend Museum of Art. South Bend, IN.                      

                                     “The Things Themselves” Pelham Art Center. Pelham, NY.

2009                             “Maxmuliple”. Devening Projects, Chicago, IL

2006                             “Referencing Nature”, Seattle Art Museum Gallery, Seattle, WA.

2005                             “Scope Art Fair”, Littlejohn Contemporary, London.

2004                             “Birdspace”,Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, LA.

                                    “Birds & B(ees)”, Geschidle Gallery, Chicago, IL.

                                    “IV Centuries of Birds”,Clarke Galleries,Stowe VT, Palm Beach FL, New York, NY.

2003                            “Contemporary Art from Nashville Collections”, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN.

2002                            “Living in the Presence of the Buddha”, Lisa Sette Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ..

2001                             “All-Terrain”, Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, Virginia Beach, VA.

2000                            Fifteen Year Anniversary Exhibition”, Lisa Sette Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ.

                                     Fins, Fangs, and Feathers”, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN,

1999                             "Contemporary Realism", Lisa Kurts Gallery, Memphis, TN.

                                    "The Art of Landscape", Adam Whitney Gallery, Omaha, NE.

1998                             "Food For Thought", Hidell Brooks Gallery, Charlotte, NC.

                                    "Remembering Beauty: The Seductive and Nostalgic Nature of American Landscape", South Bend Regional Museum of Art, South Bend, IN. catalog.

                                    "Inaugural Group Exhibition",Hidell Brooks Gallery, Charlotte, NC.

                                    "Maria Tomasula,David Kroll", Northern Illinois University Art Museum, Dekalb, IL.

                                    "Artists of the Midwest", Northern Michigan University Art Museum, Marquette, MI.

1997                             "Out of Eden", The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art & Design, Kansas City, MO. catalog.

                                    "Charles Carraway, Sylvia Hyman, and David Kroll, Cumberland Gallery, Nashville, TN.

                                    "Landscape, Seen and Unseen", Pratt Institute Galleries, Manhattan and Brooklyn, NY.

                                    "In Memory of Pleasure", John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygen, WI.

1996                             "Unearthly Delights", State of Illinois Gallery, Chicago, IL and Illinois State Museum, Springfield, IL.

                                    "Natural Selection", Lisa Sette Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ.

                                    "Ronald Cohen,David Kroll,Ken Warneke", Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL.                                                                                                           

1995                             "ContemporaryStill Life and Beyond", Cumberland Gallery, Nashville,TN.

                                    "Pulp Fictions: Works on Paper", Gallery A, Chicago, IL.

                                    "Paper View", Cohen/Berkowitz Gallery, Kansas City, MO.

                                    "David Kroll, James Lavadour & Victoria Adams", Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA.

                                    "Goodbye", Betsy Rosenfield Gallery,Chicago,IL.

                                    "The Eloquent Flower",Gail Severn Gallery,Ketchum, ID. 

1994                             "In A Budding Grove", Littlejohn/Sternau Gallery, NewYork, NY.

                                    "Small Works Exhibition", Lisa Sette Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ.

                                    "Contemporary Still Life", North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND.

                                    "Bookmarks",  Northern Illinois Art Gallery, Chicago, IL.

                                    "Artfair/Seattle", Betsy Rosenfield Gallery, Seattle, WA.

1993                             "Art Chicago International", Betsy Rosenfield Gallery, Chicago, IL.

                                    "Faculty Show", University of New Hampshire Art Gallery, Plymouth, NH.

1992                             "Nature Fabrilis", curated by Devon Golden, Steibel Modern, New York, NY.

                                    "May 1992", Betsy Rosenfield Gallery, Chicago, IL.

                                    "From America's Studio: Drawing New Conclusions", curated by James Yood, Betty Rymer Gallery, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago,IL.

                                    "Light", Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, Milwaukee, WI.

                                    "Views", Levinson Kane Gallery, Boston, MA.

                                    "Intimate Relations", Jamison/Thomas Gallery, New York, NY.

1992                             "Still Alive: Contemporary Still Life", Rockford College Art Gallery, Rockford, IL.

1991                             "Revelations: Artists Look at Religion", Gallery 2, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.

                                    "Twenty-Four x Twenty-Four", Parkland College of Art Gallery, Parkland College, Champaign, IL.

                                    "Summer 1991", Levinson Kane Gallery, Boston,

1991                             "Sum of the Parts", Jamison/Thomas Gallery, New York, NY.

                                    "New Work", Betsy Rosenfield Gallery, Chicago IL.

                                    "The Landscape in Art: New Traditions & Extended Meanings", Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL.

1990                             "Still Life Anthology", Grace Borgenicht Gallery, NewYork, NY.

                                    "Nature/nature", co-curated by Linda King and KarenIndeck, Gallery 400, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL.

                                    "The Chicago Show", The Chicago Public Library Cultural Center, Chicago, IL.

1989                             "Small Format", Lang & O'Hara Gallery, New York, NY.

                                    "Preview", Betsy Rosenfield Gallery, Chicago, IL.

1989                             "Resurgence: Surrealism Inferred", Betsy Rosenfield Gallery, Chicago, IL.

                                    "Milano Internazionale D'Arte Contemporanea", MilanItaly.

1987                             "Art from Chicago", St. Mary's College Art Gallery, Notre Dame, IN.

1987                             "Fifteenth Union League Club Exhibition", Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, IL.

1986                             "New Horizons in Art 1986", The Chicago Public Library Cultural Center, Chicago, IL.

                                    "Self-Portraits", A.R.C. Gallery, Chicago, IL.

                                    "Recent Art from Chicago", Artists Space, New York, NY.

1985                             "Emerging 1985", State of Illinois Art Gallery, Chicago, IL.

Selected Collections

                                     Boise Art Museum, Boise, ID.

                                    Muskegon Museum of Art, Muskegon, MI.

                                    American Airlines, Admirals' Club, Chicago,IL.

                                    AT&T, Midwest Corporate Headquarters, Chicago, IL.

                                    Deloitte & Touche, Chicago, IL. 

                                    First National Bank of Chicago, Chicago, IL.

                                    The Gund Collection, Cambridge, MA.

                                    MacArthur Foundation, Chicago, IL.

                                    Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA.

                                    Nordstrums,Seattle,WA.

                                    Novak & Macey, Chicago, IL.

                                    Phillip Morris Management Corporation, New York, NY.

                                    Prudential Insurance Company, Newark, NJ.

                                    South Bend Regional Museum of Art, South Bend, IN.

                                    Sprint, Overpark, KS.

                                    Union League Club, Chicago, IL.

                                    United States Trust Company, New York, NY.

Bibliography

2014                               Miller, Chris, “Review:Modern Metaphors/Rockford Art Museum”,New City, April 2,2014.

2013                              Upchurch, Michael, “Seattle Artist David Kroll:nature and artiface, deftly intertwined”, Seattle Times, September 27, 2013.

2010                             Nolan, Joe, “Altered Perceptions” Nashville Scene, September 23-29, 2010.

2009                             Artner, Alan, “David Kroll Show Delights”, Chicago Tribune, January 16, 2009.

                                      Miller, Chris, “Review: David Kroll/ Zolla Lieberman Gallery, New City January 26, 2009.

2008                             Friskics-Warren, Bill, “New Paintings By David Kroll Contemplate Humanity’s Place In Nature, Our Impact On It.”, The Tennessean, September 14,2008.      

2006                             Wagonfeld, Judy, “David Kroll’s Meticulously Painted Oils are Old-Master Style Statements of Foreboding”, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, January 20, 2006.

2002                              “(Un) earthly Delights: Paintings by David Kroll”, Orion People and Nature: Twentieth Anniversary Issue, Summer 2002.

                                      Knowles, Susan W, “David Kroll and Barry Buxkamper”, Art Papers Magazine, July/August 2002.

2001                              Marschal, Richard, “Diverse Approach To Realism”, Charlotte Observer, June 22, 2001.

                                      Brown, Linda Luise, “Imaginary Science, David Kroll Paints a Paradise Lost”, Creative Loafing Charlotte, June 13-19, 2001.

2000                             Bell, J. Bowyer, “David Kroll, New Paintings”, Review, February 15, 2000.

                                      Bostick, Alan, “Kroll, Stryk Nestle Work at Cumberland Gallery”,  The Tennessean, May 14, 2002.

1999                              Snodgrass, Susan, “Painter David Kroll at Zolla/Lieberman Gallery", International Contemporary Art, May-August 1999.

                                       Holg, Garrett, “David Kroll”. Art News, March 1999.

                                       Koeppel, Frederic, “Evocations of Dutch Still Life Intensify Anemia of Modernity”, Memphis Commercial Appeal, May 29, 1999.

1998                               Yood, James, "The Dark Side of Nature", Southwest Art, March.

                                       Hawkins, Margaret, Painter David Kroll Walks on the Wild Side of Nature”, Chicago Sun-Times, December 18,1998.

1998                              Artner, Alan, “Kroll Continues His Twist of Perspective”, Chicago Tribune, December, 1998.

1997                              Self, Dana, "Out of Eden", The Kemper Museum of Art & Design (catalog).                     

                                      Hewett, Heather, "In Memory of Pleasure", Art Papers,September-October.

                                      Wasserman, Nadine, "In Memory of Pleasure", New Art Examiner, June.

                                      Auer, James, "Young Artists Take Look Back With Wit, Technical Mastery", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 19.

1996                             Kuspit, Donald, "Sinister Beauty, or the Return to Pleasures of the Imagination: Five Illinois Painters", Illinois State Museum (catalog).

                                     Weins, Ann,  "(Un)Earthly Delights", The New Art Examiner, September.

                                    Bauer, Monica, "Ronald M. Cohen, David Kroll, Ken Warneke", The New Art Examiner, March.

                                    Green, Nick, "Triumph of Hyde Park Art Center", The Chicago Maroon, University of Chicago, January 30.

                                    Glatt, Cara, "Local Art center Hosts Provocative Show", Hyde Park Herald, January 14.

1996                             Melrod, George. "Back to Nature", Art and Antiques, February.

1994                             Yood, James. "David Kroll", Artforum, November.

                                     Riddell, Jennifer. "David Kroll", New Art Examiner, November.

                                     Artner, Alan. "Ominous Hints", Chicago Tribune, September 15.

                                     Lone Fitht, Tony. "Still Life is Not Just a Bowl of Fruit", North Dakota Herald, January 12.

1993                             Artner, Alan. "Man and Nature", Chicago Tribune, May 6.

1992                             Cotter,Holland. "Nature Fabrilis", The New York Times, Arts in Review, July 3.                         

                                    Paine, Janice T. "'Light' Shines on Artists", Milwaukee Sentinel, Let's Go, Friday, February 7.

                                    Snodgrass, Susan. "Chicago: David Kroll at Betsy Rosenfield", Artin America, January.

1991                             Wilson, Wade, "David Kroll", New Art Examiner, December.

                                     Schneeman, Liane. "Still Alive: Contemporary Still Life", Rockford College Art Gallery, Rockford IL, (catalog).

                                     Mella, Joseph. "The Landscape in Art: New Traditions and Extended Meanings", Rockford Art Museum, Rockford IL, (brochure/essay).

1990                             Postiglione, Corey. "Nature/nature", Dialogue, May/June.

1989                             Snodgrass, Susan. "Resurgence", New Art Examiner, September.

                                    "Primavisione: New Experiences by Young Italian and

                                     American Artists", City of Chicago Twined with the City of Milan, Italy, (catalog).

                                     Halvorsen, Steve. "David Kroll", Dialogue, March/April.

1987                             Robinson, Walter. "State of the Art: Young, Gifted, and Affordable", Metropolitan Home, November.

1986                             Yood, James. "Recent Art From Chicago", Artists Space, New York, NY, (catalog).

Awards

2014                            Finalist, 2015 Contemporary Northwest Art Awards, Portland Art Museum

1996/97                       Arts Midwest/NEARegional Visual Artist Fellowship Award

1991                             Artist Fellowship Award, Illinois Arts Council, Chicago, IL.

1990                             Jurors Prize"The Chicago Show", Chicago Public Library Cultural Center,Chicago, IL.

1987                            Silliman Merit Award/ Anthony Mourek Purchase Prize, Union League Club Exhibition, Chicago,