David Huffman (artist)

David Huffman
Born 1963
Nationality American
Alma mater California College of the Arts (MFA)
Known for contemporary art, painting
Style abstraction, figuration
Movement Afrofuturism
Website david-huffman.com

David Huffman (1963)[1]born in Berkeley, California, USA is an American painter and installation artist. He is best known for his Traumanaut series: futuristic land and space-scapes populated by African American astronauts.[2] He resides in Oakland and is faculty in the Graduate Fine Arts Program at California College of the Arts[3]

Early life and education

David Huffman was raised in Berkeley, California. His mother was an activist who supported various local causes in the 60s, including the Black Panthers.[4]

Huffman studied in New York and San Francisco receiving his MFA from the California College of Arts and Crafts.[5] He has taught at Santa Clara University and is currently a professor at California College of the Arts.[3]

Work

Huffman's work melds the aesthetics of science fiction,[6] formal explorations in the medium of paint and identity politics.[7]

Huffman's early work includes African-American space travelers he calls "traumanauts".[8] These figures enter futuristic landscapes where paint combines with images of cosmic debris and ecological decay to create surreal tableaux.[2]

Later works no longer feature traumanauts but continue to explore the politics of race in works that limit his iconography to the image of the basketball in combination with an abstracted deep space created of layered tones of browns and blacks [9]

Awards and fellowships

Among the honors which Huffman has earned are:

Eureka Fellowship, Fleishhacker Foundation (2008)[10]

Artadia Award (2006)[11]

Palo Alto Public Arts Commission Award(2005)[12]

Selected exhibitions

David Huffman’s work has been featured in exhibitions at numerous galleries and institutions including:[6][12][13]

Collections

Huffman's work is held in many permanent collections including:[12]

References

  1. "David Huffman". Iniva. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 Buuck, David (2009). "David Huffman at Patricia Sweetow Gallery". Artweek 40 (1): 11–12.
  3. 1 2 Norrena, Jim. "Faculty-Alumnus David Huffman's "Out of Bounds" at SFAC Gallery a "SHIFT" Toward Dialogue About Race in America". California College of the Arts. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  4. Baker, Kenneth (2006). "BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Artist profile / DAVID HUFFMAN" (Friday, February 10). San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  5. "SPACE IS THE PLACE". Disjecta: Contemporary Art Center of Portland. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Patricia Sweetow Gallery : Everything Went Dark Until I Saw Angels". Art Enthusiast. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  7. Baker, Kenneth (2004). "Mixing painting and identity politics with 'traumabots'" (Saturday, May 8). San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  8. Scarboro, Jennine. "Interview with David Huffman". Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  9. Murray, Derek Conrad. "David Huffman". Art in America. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  10. "Eureka Fellowship Program :: Past Grantees :: 2008-2010". Fleishhacker Foundation. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  11. "Awards / Past Awardees". Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  12. 1 2 3 "David Huffman Biography". Artnet Worldwide Corporation. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  13. "David Huffman". ArtSlant, Inc. Retrieved 16 December 2015.

External links

Official website

2013 The Days of Future Past: Afrofuturism and Black Memory

2011 David Huffman: The Beauty of Affliction | YBCA Bay Area Now 6

2006 BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Artist profile / DAVID HUFFMAN

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