Michael Dubina

Born: 1962

Education: Illinois State University, Normal Illinois

Statement: "The Hope Series is a departure from traditional landscape compositions to upward glances, tree tops, and the skyward gaze. To look up is a universal gesture of prayer. This is of great interest to me. The metaphor I am searching for in these works is one of aspiration. The light in these paintings [and prints] comes from within, symbolizing our inner light, or an optimistic glow.
Painting and praying are two very personal activities. Both require great faith. The conception of the Hope Series came at a low point in my personal life. I was struggling with depression, loneliness, and an overwhelming feeling of pessimism. A friend suggested writing as a form of therapy. I distilled writing down to a few sentences, in an effort to incorporate works into my paintings. The paintings seemed cluttered with all those words. I pared my writing down to just on word, "hope". And I wrote the word into the sky of the pinting I was currently working on. The effect was immediate. I had found what I was looking for. The work "hope" can be contrived on the surface, but it is also an expansive word, loaded with metaphor, symbolism, and deep spiritual meaning. Painting after painting, the effect of the word "hope" written over and over again suggested a mantra, a Gregorian chant, a prayer. It bordered on the obsessive but nonetheless it was uplifting. The Hope Series turned my pessimism into optimism.
At times the "hope" is hand-written suggesting a personal plea. Other times block letters are used to symbolize inspiration that came from an outsid source. In a number of paintings the word is left our completely, only the light of the picture suggesting hope. In others the word is written more boldly, stating "hope" with more faith and conviction. I want people to walk away from the work with a sense of being uplifted, visually as well as spiritually."--Michael Dubina

prints by Michael Dubina

Exhibitions: Michael Dubina's artwork has been exhibited internationally. A selected list of recent exhibitions include: "Midwestern Romanticism", Gahlberg Gallery, Arts Center, College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL, Beach Museum of Art, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences, Peoria, IL, Freeport Art Museum and Cultural Center, Freeport, IL, Springfield Art Association, Springfield, IL, and Sioux City Art Center, Sioux City, IA; "Rural Inspirations" Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL; "Exhibit IV" Group Show, Edgewood Orchard Galleries, Fish Creek, WS; "Watercolor Now" Watercolor USA Honor Society, Knoxville Museum of Art, Knoxville, TN; "Contermporary Amercian Realism" Elliot Smith Contemporary Art, St. Louis, MO; "Masters of Watercolor" Walnut Street Gallery, Springfield, MO; "The Illinois Landscape: Selected Views" College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL; Art 1994 Chicago: The New Pier Show, Chicago, IL; "Contermporary American Realism" Art Du Monde Gallery, Kyoto, Kobe, and Tokyo, Japan;

Solo exhibitions: Somerhill Gallery, Chapel Hill, NC; Elliot Smith Contermprary Art, St. Louis, MO; Stroblem Gallery, Springfield, IL; Dumonde Gallery, New York, NY; Jayne H. Baum Gallery, New York, NY; Marvin Seline Gallery, Houston, TX; Carrol Reece Museum, Johnson City, TN; Peter Miller Gallery, Chicago, IL; and Milligan College, Johnson City, TN

Selected Collections: Citibank, New York, NY; Nynex Corporation, New York, NY; Fuji Bank, New York, NY; Winston Enterprises, Inc., New York, NY; Monsanto Corporation, St. Louis, MO; Duke University, Durham, NC; R. R. Donnelly, Chicago, IL; McDonald Corporation, Chicago, IL; University Galleries, Illinois State University, Normal, IL; Price Waterhouse, Boston, Massachusetts; Katsumi Kanada, Village of Damine, Japan; Akira Nanahara, Mayor of Damine, Japan

Selected recent Bibliographies & Catalogs: 1996, Arthur, John, "Midwestern Landscape"; Greenber, Blue, "Landscape Paintings Spark Special Feelings", "Durham Harold-Sun", September 6; Natale, Michele, "Art Works", "The Chapel Hill News", September 11, 1994; Twardy, Chuck, 'The Lay of the Land", "News & Observer", Chapel Hill, NC, July 15, 1994; Shepley, Carol Ferring, "Light and Land", "St. Louis Dispatch", St. Louis, MO March 3, 1994

(biographical information last updated on September 28, 1997)

prints by Michael Dubina
 


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