October 2007 – Drawings by David Aronson

Artist Reception Oct.12, 7-9pm wine and cheese… New works by David Aronson NEW Aphrodite Gallery at the PASSIONAL SEXPLORATORIUM, 620 S. 5th St. in Philadelphia. David Aronson lives and works in the Philadelphia area. His quirky, offbeat drawings, paintings and illustration combine traditional media such as watercolor, ink, graphite and colored pencil with digital media and digital collage. His work ranges from whimsical to fantastic, from highly stylized to realistically rendered, and has been called unique and highly imaginative. It mixes lowbrow with fine art elements and often employs unusual juxtapositions. Thematically, David often delves into the realms of mythology and psychology. He has created art for CD covers, music posters and tour t-shirts. David is also an oil painter and has completed several public and private commissions. His digital animation has been featured on MTV2 and Fuse and his drawings were featured regularly in BigNews, the New York journal of art and literature, as well as being exhibited nationally in galleries and museum shows. He is an art teacher, working with both children and adults and teaching several different media, and was once the sole owner and operator of a small art school in the Philadelphia suburbs. He is also a certified hypnotherapist and a published poet. Artist’s Statement Short version: My art is about what I think and feel and it’s brutally honest. It’s honest because I want you to know who I really am. It’s about the stuff that’s swimming around in my subconscious. It’s about the stuff that scared me and made me angry when I was a kid; stuff that I couldn’t talk about then. It’s symbolic because symbols are powerful and interesting and people can see a lot more of themselves in a symbol than in something that’s literally spelled out. It’s fun and interesting when people can find their own meanings in my art based on who they are as individuals. Sometimes I don’t really know what my art’s about–at least not consciously. It’s dark and disturbing because there are things that need to be talked about and not swept under the rug. It’s humorous and whimsical, because life is so strange and outrageous that you need to have a sense of humor to survive sometimes. It’s about using your imagination. The artist sees beyond his everyday world and the limitations he’s been taught and he invites you to join him. Long version: My artistic voice and vision has revealed itself over a long process of evolution, both personal and aesthetic, rather than having been a conscious starting point. The first intention is to allow the subconscious mind, the deeper hidden portions of the psyche, to express itself, much in the manner of the original surrealists. These images can range from whimsical to absurd to perverse to terrifying. I do not censor them and I often don’t know what they mean consciously while creating them. The second intention would be healing. Psychic wholeness is achieved by allowing the “dark” elements of my psyche to move into the conscious light of day. By depicting these disowned aspects of self, I accept them and integrate them, thus bringing about wholeness and releasing trapped energy and power. These images are often quite powerful because they speak in the symbolic language of the deep psyche-the language of dream and myth.

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