NYC October ’06 with Milo

David Welker was born in upstate New York on July 30th 1964. From early on drawing and painting has been the central focus of Welker’s life. As a child he exhibited extremely advanced rendering skills and was interested in scenic and figurative drawing through his high school years. At Syracuse University he honed his painting skills and immersed himself in the study of art history where he began to choose his influences ranging from Max Ernst and Francis Picabia to William Glackens and George Bellows. After graduating from Syracuse University in 1986 he began a series of ambitious large-scale works on canvas and paper.

“Rift” — Phish album Cover View larger image.

At this time Welker’s themes varied from figurative storytelling pieces to elaborate dreamscapes with a strong emphasis on technical mastery.

Night Birds View larger image.

Welker’s two decade long professional career has ranged from large-scale murals for the world’s wealthiest patrons, to album covers and posters for the legendary rock band Phish as well as renegade art shows in Boston and New York. In 1993 Welker painted the cover of Phishs’ theme album entitled “Rift”, which received worldwide acclaim from album art enthusiasts and was recently included in Relix magazines “Top 10 Most Iconic Album Covers of All Time” collectors’

Cross Section NYC View larger image.

edition. Currently Welker is expanding upon and refining an abstract phase of the past 7 years, which draws on all his acquired skills and influences to depict a quasi-literal environment, which challenges the borders of conceptual and pictorial space.

Welker is a traditionalist by nature and believes wholeheartedly in the power of ancient mediums like paint. “Every generation predicts its’ own doom as well as the end of art as we know it. This is one of many human proclivities that I like to reflect on and also reject.” Welker lives and works in downtown New York City. His work is in private collections worldwide.

Artist Statement,

“There are many influences in my life that naturally wind up affecting my art. It has always been a difficult thing for me to narrow my repetoire down to just one approach. Currently I am placing emphasis on a series of pictorial, urban landscapes that reflect my desire for art to be accessible and human and represent the things I see on a daily basis. And as an antidote to the strict discipline that these paintings require of me, I am simultaneously creating a series of abstract paintings which depict topographical or arial views of organic landscapes with the encroachment of human structures into them.”

David Welker