DANIEL GRAVES: SOLO
	FOREWORD The two panels that comprise Daniels Graves' majestic work entitled The Gift embody the philosophy, technique and spirituality that this renowned artist has embraced and championed over the last decades. These paintings are a tangible manifestation of the journey he has been on all his life...a search for meaning, truth and beauty. The first level on which we perceive The Gift's iconic figures of man and woman are as a part of nature. In this setting, they are not just bare but stripped of all their historical impact on the natural world around them. Their positions are somewhat precarious atop the outcroppings of rocks on which they perch. The sky is brooding, and with the light barely visible on the horizon, it is in a state of imminent change. Yet the pair seems unaware, as they focus solely one to the other. In this captured moment, they do connect, not by touch but by the very act of reaching out. They are masterfully painted... his muscles and sinew are a solid testament of his masculinity, and the softness of woman is extolled in the fullness of her breasts and slope of her stomach. Their longing is as real as their flesh would be warm to the touch. But the paintings are about more than the yearning of a man for a woman or a woman for a man. Devoid of any worldly trappings, they speak to the basic human need to make contact across the void that separates us. This reality, this essence of being human, is what Daniel Graves has so nobly achieved in these works. Thematically, this message may not be new or shocking, but in the hands of a masterful artist it remains eternally true, profoundly relevant and deeply moving. It speaks directly to the ongoing desire and need each of us has to connect with our own humanity. What unites all of Daniel Graves' figurative work is the sense of the human being behind the portrayal. Rather than capturing a life on canvas, he strives to make the figure come alive...to create flesh out of paint and to convey the solid presence of his subject in space. For Graves, this is the ultimate achievement in communicating the reality of each individual and the significance of their existence. Only then the artist is free to enjoy capturing the nuance in each expression and the clues to the sitter's unique personality and character. In paintings such as Anders and Innocence we come as close to standing before these people as possible, but we can take the time to examine their human qualities in a way life does not deem polite. We can seek out, explore and finally connect, one to another even over the span of centuries. Although each genre of representational art in the classical tradition adheres to the same principles, the landscape paintings for Daniel Graves have been an exercise in freedom. Of late, Graves has been captivated by the sky. Though these "cloud compositions" are generally based on his plein air paintings, the creation of the sky, in the confines of the studio, develop from his imagination. This has allowed him to explore a side of his creativity that he does not call into play with figure or still life work. Approaching Storm and Afternoon Sky are dynamic paintings that capture the power and force of nature, but that aspect was not the most interesting challenge for the artist. Rather, it was in the illusion and juxtaposition of the diaphanous wisps of white to the grey, foreboding formations that appear almost as dense as rock. The heavens are fascinating and at best a transient reality but one that the artist's talent can preserve indefinitely. In all of the paintings in this important exhibition, Daniel Graves brings to bear his dedication and passion for the humanist tradition. As a man, husband, father, teacher and artist his quest has been to learn the lessons from the past, to add his own uniqueness to that knowledge and then to touch others in a way that is meaningful and lasting.
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