Dan has a particular interest and appreciation for modern Russian art and the sumptuous canvases of the painters Nicolai Fechin, Isaac Levitan and Ilya Repin. As Dan says, their paintings are “completely loose yet deliberate and faithful, not at all flashy.”
Indeed, the powerful and evocative beauty of Gerhartz’s paintings are also due in large measure to looseness, honesty and faithfulness of his style. Dan’s paintings embrace a range of subjects, most prominently the female figure in either a pastoral setting or an intimate interior.
Daniel is at his best with subjects from everyday life, genre subjects, sacred-idyllic landscapes or figures in quiet repose, meditation or contemplative isolation. His mastery of the female figure, the clothed figure especially, is brilliant. He has drawn inspiration from the very old tradition of romanticism and symbolism.
Daniel absolutely lavish surfaces, color and lighting are in harmony with his expressionistic brushstroke, application and modeling of light and shade. His paintings are sensitive yet evocative creations, which dramatize his bold and ambitious technique. He is at his very best when he allows himself to explore the surface in a free and painterly manner, while retaining his sense of other worldliness.
His subjects evoke a timelessness and idealism, yet for the most part Dan has drawn upon his home and community in Wisconsin, including family and friends. His sense of intimacy and honesty with regard to his subjests are a direct result of his closeness and proximity to them. A projection of tranquillity, repose and rich introspection result from his knowledge of the content of his art.
In Gerhartz’s pictures the ordinary or commonplace is transformed into a higher reality and consequently a sense of greater importance. Emotions are a vital part of his express design, while his mastery of anatomy, the human form and complex surfaces combine to make his canvases very powerful visual experiences.
About his work Dan has said,
“My desire as an artist is that the images I paint would point to the Creator, and not to me, the conveyor. J.S. Bach said it well as he signed his work, ‘Soli Deo Gloria,’ To God alone be the glory.”
J. Brooks Joyner
More about Daniel Gerhartz
Daniel Gerhartz was born in Wisconsin in 1965 where he now lives with his wife Jennifer and their three young children. His interest in art piqued at an early age when a teenage friend suggested they spend one dreary afternoon drawing. It was at that moment that he discovered his lifework.
Daniel began his art education at the American Academy of Art in Chicago where he studied in the classical tradition and immersed himself in applications of technique and design. After a brief stint in commercial art, he began pursuing fine art; visiting museums to study master works and painting alongside contemporary artists. Daniel found his passion in painting from life.
This direct approach to working with the figure and landscape allowed him to see and attempt to capture the infinite nuances of light, color, and form.
This continues to drive his enthusiasm today. Since then he has been featured in solo and group shows across the country and has won several awards at prominent national invitational exhibitions and his work has been collected both nationally and internationally.
The artist’s skillful and technically adept work celebrates the created world, the human form, personal relationships with a connection to landscapes and environments of special importance. Many of his figures are dressed in dramatic clothing which he often invents for its aesthetic appeal and lyrical quality so as to achieve a sense of other worldliness..
Daniel subjects evoke a timelessness and idealism, yet for the most part Dan has drawn upon his home and community, including family and friends, for subject matter.
Daniel sense of intimacy and honesty with regard to his subjects are a direct result of his closeness and proximity to them. A projection of tranquility, repose and rich introspection result from his knowledge of the content of his art.
In Gerhartz’ pictures the ordinary or commonplace is transformed into a higher reality and consequently a sense of greater importance. Emotions are a vital part of his express design, while his mastery of anatomy, the human form and complex surfaces combine to make his canvases very powerful visual experiences.
Daniel Gerhartz has established himself as an important American painter among the leading talents of our time. About his work Dan has said,
” My goal is to effectively record the richness of our human experience, the contrasts between life and death, the dance and dirge, the beautiful and common, joy and sorrow, hope and despair, while in the end, offering a message of hope and pointing the viewer to the eternal.”
and
” As I paint my subjects from life and have the privilege of studying the awe inspiring breadth and depth of the beauty of the created world, it is humbling to ponder the greatness of our Creator.” Johann Sebastian Bach said it well as he signed his work, ‘Soli Deo Gloria,’ to God alone be the glory.”
Daniel F. Gerhartz Paintings
Daniel F. Gerhartz Website: http://www.danielgerhartz.com