Beautiful Loser, an exhibition of work by Doug Fath, will be on display at Arts + Literature Laboratory from Friday, March 17 to Saturday, April 15, 2023. An opening reception will be held Friday, March 24 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm.
Exhibition Statement:
My paintings investigate pain and difficult situations through representation and allegory. This recent body of work emerged during the pandemic as I experienced isolation and tremendous loss. With influences ranging from Frida Kahlo to contemporary painter Jammie Holmes, I work in a Surrealist style to explore questions and emotions that arise as I navigate through life. Drawing inspiration from encyclopedias, folk art, scientific drawings, old sourcebooks, photographs, and images that I have collected, I begin my process by making preliminary sketches. After I have refined an idea, I loosely transfer a drawing to the painting surface. While I may execute an idea faithfully, more often I work intuitively, allowing the images to change as I proceed. I also prefer to use color in unconventional and evocative ways. In the painting Beautiful Loser, I chose a majestic, silver blue for the deer to generate an image that is sad and dignified simultaneously. Animals appear frequently in my paintings. They may possess known mythical qualities or represent a particular trait or feeling state.
While each work relates to a personal experience, my paintings allude to universal themes of pain and loss, in an attempt to connect with the viewer. I create art to heal, to help me cope, and to survive. While my work is an honest expression of subjective experience, the imagery allows for multiple interpretations––I always appreciate hearing what others see in my work and how it relates to their own lives. Art elicits emotion and can help us relate to one another and I believe there is no more universal experience than pain as it transcends any socially constructed categories.
