Quiet Reflection

Maxwell Alexander Gallery presents new work from David Grossmann.

By John O’Hern

When David Grossmann and I first spoke back in the summer of 2017, he said, “Lately, birds have become a fascination to me. They must be the wisest and most mysterious of creatures, yet they are so fragile. And they fly and they sing, so I am overcome.”

The depth of the emotions of his solitary observations continue today as he greets each morning with his son and his daughter. “Watching how my kids discover the world has added a new layer of wonder to my own experience of life. Everything is magnified, including my sense of anxiety, and also of hope. I feel an increased responsibility in how my family and I are shaping the world around us.”

Waning Crescents, oil on linen panel, 40 x 60 in.

He and his son “have been sitting outside together in the early mornings to hear the dawn chorus,” he says. “We try to identify as many birds as we can. He is 4 years old, and loves to learn. When we visit the library, he heads straight for the nonfiction and chooses books about how things work, anything from robots to the human body. He also enjoys looking through medical journals. I tend to be much less analytical, so I am learning and re-learning so much along with him.

Daily Miracle, oil on linen panel, 40 x 30 in.

“My daughter, almost 2 years old, often wakes early, and we run together with our jogging stroller. We usually come across the herd of deer that frequents our neighborhood, which brings her great delight. As dawn approaches, we watch the light increase around us, reflecting on the river. She is becoming quite the birdwatcher, too.”

October Tapestry, oil on linen panel, 40 x 30 in.

I asked about his hands appearing in his painting My Hands, seemingly releasing a flock of birds into the sky. “When this idea came to me,” he replied, “I was thinking about how we shape the world, how our inner and outer landscapes meet and form each other. So many of my thoughts these days revolve around parenting, and with this piece I was thinking about what we release, what we reach after, letting go and holding on. But hopefully the image is open ended enough that anyone could step into it with their own stories.”