Wisconsin based artist David Niec has dedicated his life to examining the phenomena of the moon’s twenty-nine and a half day repertoire, from shadow to full brightness. Through a process of mark making and layering, Niec achieves a depth and intensity of soft transitions. He paints outdoors in all seasons and changing weather conditions. 

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Niec has had solo exhibitions at Portrait Society Gallery, Dean Jensen Gallery, The Alice Wilds, Grace Chosy (Madison), The Land Gallery (New Mexico). He was an artist in residence with Gallery 224, Port Washington, and The Land/An Art Site in New Mexico. He was featured in a two-person exhibition, To Know the Dark, (2022) at Portrait Society Gallery with John Riepenhoff. His work is in the collections of David Nash, North Wales and  Concordia University Art Gallery, as well as numerous private collections. 

 

He earned a BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he studied with Wisconsin’s preeminent painter of the outdoors, Tom Uttech. Niec credits Uttech with understanding the energies of the wilderness, stars, and nighttime. A turning point in his career was a residency in 1996 with the internationally-known British “land” sculptor  David Nash.  Niec was awarded a significant grant from the Adolph Gottlieb Foundation in 2021.

 

ARTIST STATEMENT

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"In a lunar month, the moon goes through a repertoire of phases, from new moon when it is in shadow to full moon when it appears as a bright white circle back to new moon at which point the cycle begins anew. It’s appearance as well as it’s pull on us is constantly shifting. At the same time it returns to familiar points.

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Nature is constantly in flux. Any attempt to study, represent or understand it makes one very aware of this. It is fascinating yet very elusive. It moves too fast to make sense of it. Nature is also cyclic. This problem  can be approached with a strategy.

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I am routinely placing myself in environments at specific times to observe and interact with the moon. Over the years, my knowledge and understanding of it accumulate and the experience somehow deepens. The moon however always remains beyond my grasp."