David Park: A Retrospective

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This generously illustrated volume accompanies the first major museum exhibition in over thirty years dedicated to the expressive work of David Park, a pioneer of Bay Area Figurative Art. A Boston native, Park moved to California at 17 and spent most of his adult life in the Bay Area. Initially influenced by Abstract Expressionism, he underwent a transformative moment mid-century, destroying most of his abstract canvases to focus on figurative painting, marking the inception of Bay Area Figurative Art. His 1950s works encompass diverse subjects such as street scenes, musicians, portraits, interiors, and bathers, showcasing his ability to blend Abstract Expressionism with bold, gestural paint handling and vibrant color. In 1958-59, he reached an expressive peak, creating intensely physical and psychologically charged canvases. Illness in 1960 curtailed this productive period, leading him to explore other mediums. In his final year, unable to paint on canvas, he created a thirty-foot felt-tip-pen scroll and a series of vibrant gouaches as a deliberate final statement. Featuring over one hundred works, this retrospective traces Park's artistic journey from his early Social Realist efforts to his later figurative paintings and final works on paper, complemented by essays that illuminate his life and career.