Daydreamers by Nathan Durfee
Daydreamers, this exhibition in the Ruth & Bill Baker Gallery showcases my commitment to blending whimsy with depth. These 25 paintings, merging pop-surrealism with influences from impressionism and illustration, can be broken into three categories. With my ‘Dreamers’, I delve into the world of meditative spaces where reality intertwines with our inner thoughts. Other paintings, Drawing from the rich tapestry of art history, pay homage to the old masters. These paintings serve as a bridge between the past and the present, inviting viewers to rediscover familiar themes through a contemporary lens. Lastly, my works on vintage postcards weave narratives of nostalgia and charm. Depicting scenes of historic Charleston, these vignettes serve as windows into a surreal bygone world.
As a whole, the show explores themes of meditation, nostalgia, and charm. While you engage with these paintings, I invite you to embrace your own whimsy and become a fellow daydreamer.
More about the artist, from the artist's Charleston Gallery Robert Lange Studios.
Nathan Durfee is an artist renowned for his whimsical and thought-provoking artworks with a career that spans two decades. With hundreds of paintings made in creative exploration, he has now embarked on a journey into the realm of dreams. With his most significant show to date “Daydreamers” this latest series of paintings combine elements of pop art and surrealism.
In this series, he delves deep into the subconscious, exploring the enigmatic landscapes of dreams and the characters that inhabit them. Each painting serves as a window into an inviting narrative. Characters find themselves immersed in extraordinary places, guided by the whims of their own subconscious minds. These “quiet, meditative places” as Nathan describes them, are inherent in each of us and the masked figures, with their eyes closed, allow viewers to project their emotions onto the paintings. This open-endedness encourages personal interpretations and inner connections, making each piece a unique experience for the audience.
Perhaps more than most, Nathan’s paintings imbue the transformative power of art and the boundless potential of the human imagination.
