Biography
David Raven is a native Iowan who has been painting and exhibiting for over 50 years. Starting as an abstract expressionist in the 1960’s, he has evolved toward more representational imagery. With the exception of some brief departures, David continues to paint landscapes and still life exclusively in oil. More recently, he has moved in the direction of surrealism— influenced significantly by artists like Rene Magritte, the very inventive Belgian painter.
Much of David’s focus in painting is a reflection of his fascination with light and tonal range— which are the hallmarks of visual depth in art. Most of his paintings begin with a monochromatic color drawing, and are eventually crafted into full color renderings. An early interest in black and white photography had much to do with modeling objects in space, and ultimately creating in paint an atmosphere that could be “walked into” and visually experienced.
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Education +
College of Visual Art 1963 to 1965, 1976 to 1978
Saint Paul, MN
Bachelor of Fine Art
Master of Fine ArtHeatherley School of Fine Art 1965 to 1966
London, UKThe Academy of Art University 1966 to 1967, 1971
San Francisco, CAThe Art Students League of New York 1975
New York, NYThe University of Minnesota 1976 to 1978
Minneapolis, MN -
Exhibitions +
Group Exhibitions
Cresco Regional Annual Exhibition 1965
Cresco, IA ( Grand Prize )Waterloo Municipal Gallery 1967
Waterloo, IACedar Rapids Annual Exhibition 1966
Cedar Rapids Art Center, IAThe Heatherley Gallery Annual Exhibition 1966
London, EnglandThe MacNider Museum 1967, 1974
Mason City, IA ( Honorable Mention )Eighth Regional Annual 1976
( Grand Prize )The Academy of Art Gallery 1971
San Francisco, CAMinneapolis Saint Paul Exhibition of American Art 1971
Minneapolis, MNChautauqua National Exhibition of Art 1972
Chautauqua, NYSpringville Museum of Art, American Art Annual 1973
Springville, UTHistorical Mural, Governors Mansion 1971
Boise, IDIowa Art Salon 1967, 1971, 1974, 1975
Des Moines IA
( Second Prize 1971 )
( Purchase Prize 1974 )The Des Moines Art Center, Iowa Artists Annual Exhibition 1973
Des Moines, IAGovernors Annual Invitational Exhibition, Governors Suite 1975
Des Moines, IAGovernors Annual Exhibition, State Capitol 1976
Des Moines, IALesch at Butler Gallery 1976 to 1978
Minneapolis, MN16 Iowa Artists, State Capitol 1976
Des Moines, IAThe Wyer-Pearce Gallery 1980 to 1982
Excelsior, MNT Gallery 2004
Minneapolis, MNMinnesota State Fair Salon 2004 to 2017
Multiple awards including:
3rd place 2013
Bloomington Art Center Award 2010
Hopkins Art Center 2013College of Visual Art Gallery, Alumni Exhibition 2005 and 2007
Saint Paul, MNReverberations, Form and Content Gallery 2015
Minneapolis, MNCrossing Paths, The Phipps Art Center 2016
Hudson, WIHudson Public Library 2016
Hudson, WICVA Rise, Concordia College Art Center 2017
Saint Paul, MNNumerous other galleries in the United States
One Person Exhibitions
Realism, The Charles MacNider Museum 1980
Mason City, IAMemorial Union Gallery, University Of Iowa 1971
Iowa City, IAThe Flight Movement Series, The Blanden Art Gallery 1972
Fort Dodge, IAThe World Theater Gallery 1965
Saint Paul, MN Collections +
Represented in numerous collections to include
State of Iowa (Permanent Collection, Wallace Federal Building, Des Moines )
The Graco Corporation, Minneapolis, MN
May D &F Dept Stores, Denver, CO
Unisys Corporation/ Sperry Rand Corporation Minneapolis MN
Federal Express Corp. /Flying Tigers Airlines, Atlanta GA
Farm Credit Bank/ Marquette Bank, Mpls, Saint Paul, MN
Bank of America, Fort Dodge, IA
Arrow Acme Corporation, Webster City, IA
KGLO Television Mason City, IA
St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Mason City, IA
United Central Bank, Mason City, IA
The State of Idaho Historical Collection, Boise,ID
Honors & Judging +
Feature Article, Des Moines Tribune 1971 (Nina Bernstein, now staff
writer New York Times)
Visiting Artist, MacNider Museum, Mason City 1975,1976
Visual Artist, Solo Artists Program, Iowa Arts Council 1976
Judge: World Army Photographic Exhibition, American Embassy,
Seoul, South Korea 1969
Exhibition displayed at the Pentagon, Washington D.C.
Judge: North Shore Annual Exhibition, Grand Marais, MN 1976
Judge: United States Postal Annual, St. Paul, MN 1977
Judge: Northwestern College Annual Student Show, St. Pa
Chancellor Advisory Board Member, Brown College, Mendota Heights,
MN 2004
Faculty Advisory Board Member, Brown College, Mendota Heights, MN 1998
Teaching Positions +
Instructor/ Owner, The 121/2, Webster City, Iowa 1971-75, 1979-80
Instructor, Iowa Central Community College, Fort Dodge IA 1972,1974
Instructor, College of Visual Art, St. Paul, MN 1976-78
Associate Professor, Visual Communications, Brown College,
Mendota Heights MN 1998-2009
Influences +
The following artists have given David great personal advice and information,
and need to be acknowledged:
College of Visual Arts, St. Paul MN
Lowell Bobletter, Keith Havens, John Howard Sanden
Heatherley School of Fine Art, London UK
Timothy Easton, Helen Wilson, Roy Glanville, David Ufland,
The Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA
Robert J. Brawley, Joan Brown, Gordon Cook, Jaques Fabert, Bill Martin,
Bernard Kliban, Barbara Bradley, Michael Hall
The Art Students League of New York, New York City
Frank Mason, Daniel Greene
Fritz Bultman, my acquaintance and landlord in NYC
An American Artist of Diversity & Play
© 2014 David W. Raven