Dan Barney!

I secretly hope it doesn't sell because I want to keep it. The painting in real life is so delicate and rich that I am awestruck. It's part of a show which opens this Friday at Art Access called, Landscape: Shaken Gently With A Twist. (March 19- April 9)

Dr. Barney wrote this about it:

During my art training I was told that I needed to focus, to select a style and then master it. I wonder now as an art educator if it might not be a bad idea to pick a theme or a concept to master rather than a particular style or medium. As an artist, however, I am enthralled by processes, techniques, and media that offer new understandings about living in the world. My preoccupation with artistic techniques is less attached to tradition as it is with the ability to create a provocation to re-interpret or to re-imagine common-sense beliefs. Conceptually then, my artwork acts as a method for analyzing and interpreting experiences and ideas.
“Your Courage Will Guide Your Future” is a landscape constructed from multiple sources from daily interactions, store-bought flowers, a view of Utah Lake from the prehistoric shoreline of Lake Bonneville, and an insect carrying a fortune from a cookie. Placed in close proximity, these images call forth narratives that can be as comforting as they are dangerous. The use of oil paint as a medium and the crackled surface also add to the story that is generated by individual viewers.
I once heard that the artist does not necessarily know any more about his or her artistic creation than anyone else. I believe art is created collectively; it is a participatory process of making, consuming, processing, reflecting, discussing, evaluating, and experiencing. Futures are guided by those who have the courage to go on, to live, to provoke a meaningful life, however, we are all inextricably connected, and curiously, courage has the potential to guide as well as to mislead. If the etymology of the word "courage" comes from the Latin cor, meaning "heart," then a new meaning of this painting is generated when it reads "Your Heart Will Guide Your Future."