Summer Radiance

New Art Exhibit and Opening Reception at Blackhawk Gallery

The Alamo Danville Artists’ Society will host the opening of Blackhawk Gallery’s new Exhibit ‘Summer Radiance’ The exhibit will be open Wednesday through Sunday from Friday, July 26th through Monday, October 21st, 2024. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

The Inspiration exhibit features about twenty Blackhawk Gallery member artists. Members’ artworks include paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, photographs, and wearable art. ‘SUMMER RADIANCE” features guest artist Dave Matthews, Assemblage and Abstract Artist.

The Blackhawk Gallery is located at 3416 Blackhawk Plaza Circle in Danville, California, in the Blackhawk Plaza Shopping Center. Telephone: (925) 648-8023.

An Opening Reception will be held on Saturday, July 27th from 5-7 PM.
Regular Gallery hours are:
Wednesday: 12-5 pm
Thursday: 12-5 pm
Friday: 11 am – 8 pm. Two shifts 11 am – 4 pm and 4 pm to 8 pm
Saturday: 11 am – 8 pm. Two shifts 11 am – 4 pm and 4 pm to 8 pm
Sunday: 12-5 pm
Closed on Monday and Tuesday

Please check us out on our website and follow us on social media.

Website: http://www.adas4art.org/blackhawk-gallery

Facebook: www.facebook.com/AlamoDanvilleArtistsSociety

Instagram: @galleryblackhawk

Twitter: @ArtBlackhawk

Guest Artist

Dave Matthews

Dave Matthews (Pleasant Hill, CA) is a self-taught abstract and assemblage artist who grew up in Oklahoma in an old house filled with antique furniture and junkyard curiosities. As a sculptor he works in a variety of media including wood, stone and assemblage, with influence from anatomy, gender dynamics, daily observations and, most recently, his permanent disability. In 2020, Mr. Matthews became permanently disabled (losing both legs) following a hit and run incident involving a drunk driver. For nearly two years, Dave was unable to access his assemblage supplies housed in his attic studio. As a result, his recent work is deeply introspective and based upon the struggles and observations related to living in a disabled body.

Mr. Matthews moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1994 for a work assignment and never left. His art career began after retiring from a large corporation in 2014, and he has been exhibiting professionally across the region since 2016. Dave is a member of the Marin Society of Artists (MSA) in San Rafael and Art Co-Opted in the South Gallery at the Grand Theatre Center for the Arts.

Artist Statement

My artistic time is split between creating assemblages using found and repurposed materials and stone or wood abstracts. My abstract sculptures are inspired by nature and the female form and are meticulously shaped and polished using primarily hand tools to highlight the beauty of the material. In particular, I enjoy working with Alabaster and African Wonderstone. Alabaster provides a variety of color variations, translucency, natural flaws and textures. Wonderstone is a fracture-less heavy dense stone that can be polished to a near mirror finish. I enjoy the laborious process of “carving” stone by hand as much as I enjoy seeing and handling the finished piece. As far as wood, I primarily use redwood, cherry, or walnut. Wood sculptures have a beautiful warmth that is unmatched.
For my assemblages; local dumps, roadsides, flea markets, thrift stores and eBay provide the raw materials. Seeing and handling discarded objects triggers memories from my childhood as my mother restored antique furniture and collected junk. She often took me on her junk shopping excursions in rural Oklahoma and Kansas. My assemblages can be playful, culturally observational or deeply personal.
In 2020, I survived a near fatal traumatic injury. The cost of this survival was having both legs amputated, multiple surgeries and spending nearly 2 years mostly confined to a wheelchair. This led me down a more introspective path for my assemblages as I came to terms with a permanent physical disability and emotional scars. This also affected my abstracts as the stone carving “process” now takes precedence over having a finished piece. Before my accident, when asked what my favorite piece was, I would say, “my next piece”. Now I say “my current piece”.

– Dave Matthews