David Cost Monotype Show

David Cost

In Search of the Essence

May 4 - 30, 2007

Essence is everywhere

You must close your eyes to see

the invisible

- David Cost

This is the second in a series of seven exhibitions exploring the essence of Japanese aesthetics, using diverse media and styles. This show features monotypes by Santa Fe-based poet and printmaker David Cost.

David Cost's work is informed by an appreciation of many New York Expressionists - Motherwell for his collages and bold, Zen-like images, Frankenthaler for her color, whimsy and consecutiveness, and Mitchell for her innovative color explorations, energy and movement. He admires the abstract energy and experimental moves of Tapies, the contemporary Spanish artist. However, it is the Japanese ceramic tradition, to which Cost feels a spiritual kinship, that most strongly influenced Cost. His current work evolved from his lifelong fascination with ceramics, especially old Japanese pottery.

David Cost developed his artistry after a long career in banking in Minneapolis, and the untimely death of his son Charlie. As a path to equilibrium, he began writing. In 1995, he earned his Masters of Fine Arts degree in Poetry from Vermont College. His book "I Know a River" was published in 2004.

Cost draws analogy between creating a poem and a monotype. Starting with a blank surface, the empty space is gradually imbued with intuitive leaps and associations as spontaneous images begin to interplay. Cost says his images appear out of the unexpected in the deep reaches of the mind. He calls it a process of indeterminacy - meaning that little is planned, energy summons and reveals the underlying poetry in things. This requires a willingness to listen and respond to the silent, guiding, and intuitive voices suggesting a path to follow. The artist and his art become partners on a journey, taking risks together, searching for the very essence that conveys the artist's vision. Cost explains, "I believe that within each of us there is a deep creative urge - a yearning for expression. It is like an irrepressible river flowing through us, waiting and wanting to be discovered. My responsibility ... is to acknowledge, articulate, and offer this gift - my river, if you will - to you."

The current show features 15 monotypes created with oil-based inks on paper. The circular motifs, multi-layered earth tones, engaging textures, and calligraphic lines are reminiscent of surface textures on ancient Japanese pottery. Each piece is mounted over matching fabrics in a format that pays homage to the Japanese silk scrolls. This elegant body of work exhibits a sense of restraint, understatement and maturity often identified with Japanese aesthetics.