Derek Overfield

"...and around his head the fair goddess set thick a golden cloud, and forth from the man made blaze a gleaming fire... there he stood and shouted... and when they heard the brazen voice of the son of Aeacus the hearts of all were dismayed." - Homer, The Iliad 

I am influenced by the classical and the romantic, striving to mimic their monumentality, divinity and quiet brutality in my own work. Through paint and line I seek to capture the light of existence, that "gleaming fire", as well as to portray its gravity. I strive to celebrate the figure, its mysterious power and charisma.

My recent work involves scraping away a wet layer of white latex paint to create lines and forms with the black base beneath. The use of metal tools for scraping is reminiscient of excavation, construction, warfare or the strigil of Lysippos' Apoxyomenos.
 Education:

B.S. 2003 Graphics/Fine Arts (magna cum laude) - Fairmont State College, Fairmont, WV
A.S. 2003 Graphics Technology - Fairmont State College, Fairmont, WV

Awards & Distinctions:

Collections
West Virginia State Museum
Fairmont State University
Awards
Award of Excellence, West Virginia Juried Exhibition, 2011

Exhibitions:

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 

2010 Robert C. Byrd Federal Courthouse, Charleston, WV

2009 Derek Overfield Alumnus Art Exhibition, Fairmont State University, Fairmont, WV 
New Paintings in Enamel, Gallery 62, Grafton, WV
2007 Self Portraits in Acrylic, Wild Zero Studios, Morgantown, WV

GROUP EXHIBITIONS/COMPETITIONS

2014 Before You Go, Jeffrey Meier Gallery, Lambertville, NJ
Rumspringa, Jeffrey Meier Gallery, Lambertville, NJ
2013 Winter Show, Jeffrey Meier Gallery, Lambertville, NJ

Bare Form, Benedum Gallery, Monongalia Arts Center, Morgantown, WV

2012 : Inspired: Portraits of Historic West Virginia Figures, West Virginia State Museum, Charleston, WV
Allied Artists of West Virginia Juried Exhibition, Parkersburg Arts Center, Parkersburg, WV

2011 : The Bare Form Exhibit, Monongalia Arts Center, Morgantown, WV (Award)

2011 : West Virginia Juried Exhibition, Stifel Fine Arts Center, Wheeling, WV (Award)
3 Emerging Artists, Sleeth Gallery, West Virginia Wesleyan College, Buckhannon, WV
Ten Years of Great Art, Elder Gallery, Charlotte, NC

2010
New Discoveries, Elder Gallery, Charlotte, NC
Buswater on the Boulevard, Festivall 2010, Charleston, WV
Lynn and Jennifer Boggess Teaching Artists, WV State Museum, Charleston, WV
Exhibit 60, Morgantown Art Association Gallery, Morgantown, WV (Award)
Contemporary Figurative Art Salon Show, Terra Gallery, Columbus, OH

2009
The Salon Show, Terra Gallery, Columbus, OH
The Bare Form Exhibit, Monongalia Arts Center, Morgantown, WV
2009 West Virginia Juried Exhibition, Hungtington Museum of Art, Hungtington, WV
2009 Gala Juried Art Exhibition, Randolph Co. Comm. Arts Center, Elkins, WV (Award)
The Best of West Virginia, David L. Dickirson Gallery, Tamarack, Beckley, WV
Emerging Artists of West Virginia, WV State Museum, Charleston, WV (Award)
Exhibit 60, Morgantown Art Association Gallery, Morgantown, WV (Award)

2008
Step Closer, Gallery RFD, Swainsboro, GA
Art Walk, The Warner Theatre, Morgantown, WV 
Creative Drive, Hammond Harkin Gallery, Columbus, OH 
Feathers and Lead: New Works in Acrylic, Solera Cafe, Morgantown, WV
Upshur Arts Alliance Juried Art Show, Buckhannon, WV (Award)

2007
The Mustache Party Art Show, Wild Zero Studios, Morgantown, WV

2005
The Figure Head to Toe, Cooper Gallery, Lewisburg, WV
Upshur Arts Alliance Juried Art Show, Buckhannon, WV (Award)
Fairmont Collects, James David Brooks Memorial Gallery, Fairmont, WV
Self Confrontation, James David Brooks Memorial Gallery, Fairmont, WV (Award)

2004
Seneca Trails Arts Guild Fine Art Competition, Elkins, WV
Emerging, Callen McJunkin Gallery, Charleston, WV
The Figure Head to Toe, Cooper Gallery, Lewisburg, WV 

2003
Seneca Trails Arts Guild Fine Art Competition, Elkins, WV
Upshur Arts Alliance Juried Art Show, Buckhannon, WV (Award) 
6th Annual Mountain State Juried Art Exhibit, High Gate Carriage House, Fairmont, WV
Faculty-Student Traveling Exhibition, Fairmont State University, Fairmont, WV

2002
Upshur Arts Alliance Juried Art Show, Buckhannon, WV (Award)

EDUCATION

2003
B.S. 2003 Graphics/Fine Arts (magna cum laude) - Fairmont State College, Fairmont, WV
A.S. 2003 Graphics Technology - Fairmont State College, Fairmont, WV

COLLECTIONS

West Virginia State Museum permament collection
Fairmont State University permanent collection

AFFILIATIONS
Elder Gallery, Charlotte, NC
Terra Gallery, Columbus, OH
Allied Artists of West Virginia

Tags:

abstract figure paintings, contemporary figure paintings, modern abstract figurative art, male figure paintings, classical inspired figure paintings