By Wohlfarth Galleries
Opuntia polyacantha (Prickly Pear) © 2001 Donald Davidson, all rights reserved
Donald Davidson
Wohlfarth Galleries
Washington, DC
March 10 – April 6, 2018
Botanical illustrator Donald Davidson will launch a second solo show of dramatic watercolors of native botanicals at Wohlfarth Galleries in Washington, DC. This exhibition opens March 10 and continues through April 6, 2018. Last year’s show nearly sold out and focused on works from deserts and Vieques, Puerto Rico, as will this year’s show.
Viewers will find a return to the spare, unvarnished approach that seemingly belies Davidson’s devotion to neo-expressionism back in the 1980’s. In his depiction of the Puerto Rican native plant, Talinum fruticosum, an edible succulent related to portulaca found in many DC-area gardens, the artist captures this plant’s rooted, yet lively dance of nature with direct brush and pen strokes that reveal the anatomical elements key to its botanical identification.
Davidson received his first solo museum show as a painter of native flora from the Centennial Museum of El Paso in 2004. This exhibition became a traveling show displayed at visitor centers within the National Parks system. His work was on view in 2016 in the exhibition, Flora of the National Parks, at the US Botanical Garden on the Smithsonian Mall.
Awarded the Presidential Gold Medal for Volunteer Service, Davidson has created over 600 watercolors spanning 20 years, as an artist-in-the-park, under the auspices of the US Department of Interior in support of its mandate to monitor and preserve native species on public lands nationwide. Ten percent of sales will be donated to Friends Group of the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge to help with Hurricane Maria recovery.
Meet Donald and ask questions about his work during the opening reception scheduled for Saturday, March 10, 2018, from 3-5pm. Wohlfarth Galleries is located in the Brookland Arts’ District, one block from Red Line Metro (map). Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 11 AM – 4 PM and by appointment.
ArtPlantae Today 