David Feinberg | Divide Up Those in Darkness from the Ones Who Walk in Light

This exhibition celebrates the 50-year artistic and teaching career of David Feinberg in the Department of Art at the University of Minnesota and is comprised of two retrospective collections of work: Feinberg’s own artworks from 1968 to present and works from the Voice to Vision (V2V) human rights community engagement project he initiated in 2002.

Ever since he was a child, David Feinberg was interested in good versus evil, as exemplified by a drawing he did at age 3, which his mother saved. The drawing was of a pirate ship fighting a police boat. Being from Brooklyn, Feinberg was a Dodger fan who hated the New York Yankees - in his child’s mind, they were “evil.” Since he could not yet read, Feinberg interpreted the logo of the Yankees (the N over the Y) as two X’s side by side. This seemed evil to him and so he used it for the pirate ship’s flag. As he reflected on his work for this exhibition, Feinberg realized that he has never stopped being interested in the conflict between good and evil. David Feinberg’s early work was representational painting, using oil on canvas. This was followed by a period of abstract work on canvas, also with oil. In 1976 he started drawing and painting on gessoed panels returning to a representational style. He relied on his own personal history for content in all of this work.

"All art comes from the unconscious. The unconscious makes connections between the past and the present. Truth has to be found, not contrived or preconceived. Seeking truth is the way to originality. The only true thing a person has is their unique perception of the world." - David Feinberg

ABOUT THE ARTIST
David Feinberg is an Associate Professor of Art at the University of Minnesota and director of the Voice to Vision project. He earned an MFA degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He also has undergraduate degrees in Graphic Design from Parsons School of Design (The New School) and a degree in Art Education from the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz. In 1967 he was the traveling art teacher for grades K-12 for the upstate county of Ulster, New York. He was also an Assistant Professor of Art at William Rainey Harper College from 1969 to 1971. He came to the University of Minnesota in September of 1971. In 2002, he created the Voice to Vision project. Since that time, he has made multiple works of art and documentaries with people who have experienced or witnessed human atrocities all over the world. Feinberg’s art and Voice to Vision have been exhibited locally, nationally, and internationally at colleges, universities, art and community centers.

GALLERY HOURS
Gallery hours, current Covid and access protocols, and information on events related to the exhibition can be found on the Katherine E. Nash Gallery website. The Gallery is accessible via Metro Transit's Blue Line, Green Line, and bus routes 2 and 7. Parking is available nearby on the street, at the 21st Avenue South ramp, 5th Street South lot, and 19th Avenue South ramp; hourly or event rates apply.

Image: David Feinberg, Kaddish For the Immigrant’s Son, 1987, Acrylic on linen, 82 x 148 in.