"You are on your own now," said David Alfuth's father the day of David's graduation from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. David had a double major in drawing/painting and art history, and was equipped with teaching credits, so he was good to go. David took up the role of elementary art teacher in the Sheboygan school district for three years, enjoying the exuberance of children receptive to art - and, contrarily, putting up with the hard winters and enduring small town ordinariness. But the longing to travel finally caught up with him after his Triumph Spitfire sports car got stuck in the snow one too many times.
Architecture (1)
Maybe he absorbed a wanderlust while hanging around the railroad yards, cleaning out box cars to help pay college tuition. Maybe he inherited a wanderlust gene from his Dad's German/Prussian ancestors who emigrated to Wisconsin decades earlier. Or maybe his artistic temperament gave him the courage to leave the local pea cannery and cafe dishwashing station behind. Add to those the winter weather. Whatever the reasons, he packed his bags and headed out in search of more dynamic places, anywhere but the stable, ordinary neighborhoods of his childhood.
Ceiling #2
At the end of those three years of teaching, David and a few friends left Middle America for a yearlong, inspiring, delightful wandering of Europe. It was the first of many travels abroad. Upon his return to the states, David settled in Washington DC, worked for Osuna Gallery, went to parties, hung out with off-beat people and decided to pursue an art career here. Although he taught in several suburban school districts, David lived in the city where he could walk out the door and visit the museums, go to the theater and hang out in jazz clubs. In between exploring abstract painting on vellum (several of which are now in Washington Hospital Center Critical Care Unit) and exploring photography, he finally settled on constructing black and white collages inspired by his travels and his collection of cubism and futuristic art.
Cubism (2)
Storytelling is characteristic of his most of his works, but David is focusing on perspective and architecture for his November 2014 solo exhibit at Touchstone Gallery. From the hundreds of Xeroxed copies of Dover images, David is using fragments of old drawings to show the underworld that supports the above world, the unseen as well as the visible. The time consuming process of gluing each specifically sized image onto black backing board enables him to create low relief collages as well as the Cubist inspired sculptures in his "Best of Both Styles: 3-D Collage" solo, Expertly using contemporary copying tools, precision cutting, and an exacting vision, David works magic in the multiplied details that characterize his stories of wonder and mystery.
View his solo exhibition at Touchstone Gallery, 901 New York Ave, Washington DC., info@touchstonegallery.com
From Nov. 7-30, 2014, Preview: Nov. 5-6, 11-6pm, Opening Reception Nov. 7, 6-8:30pm