ABOUT BEING ENDLESSLY CURIOUS
David C. Gallup and Nansi Bielanski Gallup are artists in pursuit of constant growth and innovation. Convinced that the concepts of Cubism were insufficiently explored by the original movement, and that exploration of the passage of time and the fullness of the human experience of a moment are the most important areas of painting left unexplored, they are the founders of the Experientialist Movement- a new examination of human perception on canvas. Along with Cubism, their latest paintings explore abstraction, fractal/disrupted realism, binocular perception, and the passage of time. Under this philosophy, the answers to the following questions are examined:
What is the difference between what is, and what we perceive?
Is there a better way of describing a human experience than with one eye shut in one instant (as a camera might)?
What does a memory look like?
While both artists enjoy robust solo careers, it is their collaborative paintings which seem to provide the most progress and learning opportunities for them, and as a result occupy much of their time. Though they come from somewhat different backgrounds (Bielanski produced more modern, figure-based paintings while Gallup had a traditional realist-impressionist career), both artists have found joy in the attempt to move painting forward together, hashing out ideas about concepts and innovations as well as deciding where to apply one another's strengths, and where to assert one's own vision on a shared canvas. While collaborating on a painting is unorthodox, re-thinking painting from the ground up meant re-thinking the process as well. As studio conversations spilled over onto canvases, the results were exciting and daring. The paintings became remnants of conversations, rather than those of internal monologues.
Deepening the shared vision, both artists find their greatest inspiration in SCUBA diving. The coral reefs of our planet sustain us all, and they are as imperiled as they are beautiful. Bielanski and Gallup continue to travel the globe to observe life beneath the surface, and their personal observations of the reef system have demonstrated the validity of the concerned voices of ecologists and marine biologists. We (humans) save what we love, and love what we understand. For this reason, the couple have chosen to dedicate their art to furthering the public's love and understanding of our oceans and coral reef systems.
Nansi holds a Masters of Fine Arts Degree from Loyola Marymount University. Before becoming a professional Artist, she was a Television Director and Producer of many award-winning television commercials. She lived in Budapest, Hungary for three years, producing over one hundred commercials and several documentaries. In 2003, she left television to dedicate herself full-time to sculpting and painting. Nansi was chosen as Artist in Residence at the Carnegie Art Museum in 2016.
David is a graduate of the Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design. In his early career, he was the Chief Studio Assistant for pop art legend Hiro Yamagata, supervising a staff of 30 artists on the "Earthly Paradise" project. Gallup then spent 15 years as Vice President of the California Art Club, and has had three solo museum exhibitions; "California's Channel Islands" at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum in Malibu, "Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary" at the Aquarium of the Pacific, and "Beneath the Surface" at the Carnegie Art Museum in Oxnard. In 2018 he realized his dream of marrying Nansi.
What is the difference between what is, and what we perceive?
Is there a better way of describing a human experience than with one eye shut in one instant (as a camera might)?
What does a memory look like?
While both artists enjoy robust solo careers, it is their collaborative paintings which seem to provide the most progress and learning opportunities for them, and as a result occupy much of their time. Though they come from somewhat different backgrounds (Bielanski produced more modern, figure-based paintings while Gallup had a traditional realist-impressionist career), both artists have found joy in the attempt to move painting forward together, hashing out ideas about concepts and innovations as well as deciding where to apply one another's strengths, and where to assert one's own vision on a shared canvas. While collaborating on a painting is unorthodox, re-thinking painting from the ground up meant re-thinking the process as well. As studio conversations spilled over onto canvases, the results were exciting and daring. The paintings became remnants of conversations, rather than those of internal monologues.
Deepening the shared vision, both artists find their greatest inspiration in SCUBA diving. The coral reefs of our planet sustain us all, and they are as imperiled as they are beautiful. Bielanski and Gallup continue to travel the globe to observe life beneath the surface, and their personal observations of the reef system have demonstrated the validity of the concerned voices of ecologists and marine biologists. We (humans) save what we love, and love what we understand. For this reason, the couple have chosen to dedicate their art to furthering the public's love and understanding of our oceans and coral reef systems.
Nansi holds a Masters of Fine Arts Degree from Loyola Marymount University. Before becoming a professional Artist, she was a Television Director and Producer of many award-winning television commercials. She lived in Budapest, Hungary for three years, producing over one hundred commercials and several documentaries. In 2003, she left television to dedicate herself full-time to sculpting and painting. Nansi was chosen as Artist in Residence at the Carnegie Art Museum in 2016.
David is a graduate of the Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design. In his early career, he was the Chief Studio Assistant for pop art legend Hiro Yamagata, supervising a staff of 30 artists on the "Earthly Paradise" project. Gallup then spent 15 years as Vice President of the California Art Club, and has had three solo museum exhibitions; "California's Channel Islands" at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum in Malibu, "Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary" at the Aquarium of the Pacific, and "Beneath the Surface" at the Carnegie Art Museum in Oxnard. In 2018 he realized his dream of marrying Nansi.
COLLABORATIVE ART
Nansi & David collaborate on many of their paintings for Art of the Dive. They discuss their concepts, design, color harmonies and surface considerations while both paint on the same canvas. They find their shared vision of the work allows them to improve their individual visions. The painting is complete only when both artists have been satisfied with every bit of the painting, and feels that their vision- though maybe improved- has been expressed.
David and Nansi are members of the prestigious Ocean Artists Society, founded by Guy Harvey, Wyland and Bob Talbot to "inspire people around the world to a greater awareness of our need to preserve our natural world."
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