Whittier College News Release

For Immediate Release - February 22, 1999

Media Contact

Reference: 98/99: 55

CALENDAR

Art by David DiMichele

WHAT: "Automatic Drawing Project 1999--Vicissitudes," an exhibition of works by artist David DiMichele

WHEN: 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday, February 10-March 12

WHERE: Mendenhall Art Gallery at Whittier College
13406 Philadelphia St., Whittier

COST: free

ADD: "Automatic Drawing Project" has been DiMichele's work-in-progress since mid-1996. Begun as source material for paintings, the blotted areas of black paint on paper were projected onto the surfaces of abstract paintings. Eventually, the extemporaneous nature of the small works prompted DiMichele to focus solely upon them. They are created with diluted acrylic paint in a plastic squeeze bottle, which functions like a giant fountain pen, creating an uninterrupted line. Conceived spontaneously, without conscious control, the drawings are "automatic" as the Surrealists used the term. "Keeping the project abstract keeps it experimental and vital," DiMichele notes, "and though he has produced more than 5,000 original works with this method, he says each is a 'one-of-a-kind work of art.'"

INFORMATION: Geoff Allen, curator (626) 398-3064 or David DiMichele, (213) 626-3887