The Butler Institute of American Art
Main Facility in Youngstown, OH
330-743-1711
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David Rothermel: The Light Within
July 11 through August 29, 1999
The southwestern American landscape is the subject of this Butler
Salem branch painting exhibition featuring the art of David Rothermel. The
exhibition is curated by Robert L. Kurtz, 
Curator, Special Exhibitions. Accompanying the show
is a catalogue including 22 color plates, a forward by David Rothermel and
essays by Stuart A. Ashman, Director of the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa
Fe, NM and Hugh Gorley, III, Director of the Colby Museum of Art in Waterville,
ME. The catalogue is for sale in the Butler's Museum Gift Shop. On
July 11, 1999 a public reception to honor the artist was held at the Butler
Salem branch, located at 343 East State Street in Salem, Ohio. The Butler
Salem branch is made possible by The Salem Community Foundation.
In the Introduction section of the catalogue, Louis A.
Zona, Director of The Butler Institute of 
American Art says: "This exhibition honors one
of the most respected landscape painters working today, David Rothermel.
From his initial days in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Skowhegan
School to the present, Rothermel has been deservedly praised for his contribution
to painting and drawing, both in the United States and in Europe."
Rothermel explains the title of the exhibition: "My
reason for entitling this exhibit 'The Light Within,' was the belief in
its multiple meanings at many different levels. Not only the pure pictorial
sense, but in the process, technique and total effect. Being spiritual in
nature, the viewer and the artist can join in an 
inner stillness that is felt inside by both."
The artist adds "I believe that it is within or underneath that creates
true beauty. An anatomical view of the spirit or anatomical view of the
paint. There is no difference. What I am striving to achieve in my art is
that timeless moment of reflection, that meditative oneness, a point in
time and space when everything is silent. It must use hesitation as part
of the process so we can identify with ourselves and our emotions. Identifying
with ourselves on this level gives us a sense of being connected to the
greater universal fact that we are here."
Images from top to bottom: Autumn Axis, 1992, oil on canvas, 48
x 24 inches, Collection of Angel Saenz; Desert Dreams, 1998, oil
on canvas, 60 x 72 inches, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Catalano;
Skylighting, 1998, watercolor, 12 x 10 inches, Collection of Angel
Saenz; Level Light, 1996, watercolor, 8 x 10 inches, Collection of
the Artist. Art photography by Russell Bamert, Jamie Hart and Fred Chilton.
Read more anout the Butler Institute
of American Art in Resource Library
Magazine
Search for more articles
and essays on American art in Resource Library. See America's Distinguished Artists
for biographical information on historic artists.
This page was originally published in 1999 in Resource
Library Magazine. Please see Resource Library's Overview section for
more information.
Copyright 2012 Traditional
Fine Arts Organization, Inc., an Arizona nonprofit
corporation. All rights reserved.
The southwestern American landscape is the subject of this Butler
Salem branch painting exhibition featuring the art of David Rothermel. The
exhibition is curated by Robert L. Kurtz, 
Curator, Special Exhibitions. Accompanying the show
is a catalogue including 22 color plates, a forward by David Rothermel and
essays by Stuart A. Ashman, Director of the Museum of Fine Arts in Santa
Fe, NM and Hugh Gorley, III, Director of the Colby Museum of Art in Waterville,
ME. The catalogue is for sale in the Butler's Museum Gift Shop. On
July 11, 1999 a public reception to honor the artist was held at the Butler
Salem branch, located at 343 East State Street in Salem, Ohio. The Butler
Salem branch is made possible by The Salem Community Foundation.
