David Fertig: Paintings and Pastels
November 7, 2023 – January 27, 2024
Opening reception: Saturday, November 18th, 3 – 5pm
Paul Thiebaud Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of David Fertig: Paintings and Pastels, on Tuesday, November 7, 2023, with a reception on Saturday, November 18th from 3-5pm. On view will be 20 recently completed oil on panel paintings and pastel drawings on paper depicting battle scenes, seascapes, and portraits of important figures from the Napoleonic wars. Largely painted in grisaille with highlights of color added in, the loosely abstract brush strokes in many of David Fertig’s works emphasize the dynamic energies unleashed in battle. The exhibition is on view through January 27, 2024.
Known for his love of early 19th century French history, David Fertig’s new paintings and works on paper continue his exploration of this theme. Among the battles depicted are Austerlitz, Ciudad Rodrigo, the Siege of Gibraltar, and the great battle of Trafalgar in 1805, which resulted in France and its allies being no longer able to invade Great Britain. While many of these paintings are small in scale, the movement and drama of these military engagements comes alive in each panel through Fertig’s expressive surfaces.
David Fertig has also returned to other favorite subjects, such as The Shannon and the Chesapeake, After the Death of Major Pierson by J. S. Copley, and the Droits de L’Homme. Beyond battles, Fertig has also produced portraits of important figures, including the Daughter of France (a portrait of Suzanne Le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau), Miss Ghyll, and Irrsinnig Kleptomane, the first and last of these being based on paintings by Jacques-Louis David and Théodore Géricault respectively. Among the works on view are a still life of a Décret (Decree) issued by Napoleon, a softly painted landscape set in 1802 capturing a prelude to the upcoming battles, and a Still Life vase of roses, which Fertig has dedicated to his late friend and fellow Paul Thiebaud Gallery artist Robert Kulicke (1924-2007).
David Fertig was born in Philadelphia, PA, and received his BFA in art from Philadelphia College of Art in 1967 and his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1972. He has taught painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Artists for Environment in the Delaware Water Gap, and at University of the Arts in Philadelphia. David Fertig’s paintings, drawings, and prints have been exhibited extensively across the United States, Canada, and in Europe. His works can be found in numerous public, corporate, and private collections, including the State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Woodmere Museum, Bryn Mawr, PA; Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science, PA; and Millersville State College, PA, among others. This is David Fertig’s ninth solo exhibition with Paul Thiebaud Gallery.
