Dan Witz

Dark Doings
November 5 – December 3, 2009
Opening Reception: Thursday, November 5th, 2009

"It was Dan Witz who, back in 2003, first showed us how powerful street art could be. Each summer Dan's projects take street art to new levels by adding elements of "surprise and delight" into the city landscape. For us, Dan Witz is the consummate street artist. He's provocative.  He's dedicated.  And most of all – He has absolutely wicked skills."

– Marc and Sara Schiller
Wooster Collective

Carmichael Gallery is proud to present Dark Doings, a solo exhibition of new works by Dan Witz. This is the Brooklyn based artist’s first US west coast solo exhibition.

In Dark Doings, Witz will showcase a selection of pieces from his expansive summer street project of the same name. Created both for the street and gallery, the subtle, haunting images of human and animal faces trapped behind dirty glass windows are inspired by a recent visit earlier in the year to the red light district of Amsterdam.

In speaking about the philosophy behind this body of work, Dan explains, “I’m trying to exploit our collective tendency towards sleepwalking by inserting outrageous things right out there in plain view that are also practically invisible. My goal is to make obvious in your face art that ninety-nine percent of the people who walk by won’t notice. Eventually when they stumble upon one or find out about it I’m hoping they’ll start wondering what else they’ve been missing.”

Artwork at the show will comprise of mixed media on digital prints on plastic, presented either framed or mounted to wood doors, the latter serving as both canvas and contextual framework through which the work can be viewed. A selection of photographs depicting the Dark Doings series in situ will also be exhibited at the show. They will be displayed alongside the piece with which they correspond.

About Dan Witz:

Dan Witz is one of the most prolific artists working on the streets of New York City today. With a career that dates back to the 1970s, he continues through each project to refine his technique and style, yet never loses sight of his original aesthetic and ideological goals. Acknowledged as one of the most important voices in the history of the movement by critics and peers alike, he both defines and challenges what it means to be a street artist.

Witz was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1957. He was educated at Cooper Union and Rhode Island School of Design. Recent solo exhibitions include New Works, Addict Gallery, Paris, France (2009), New Street Works, Sid Lee Collective, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (2009), Night Paintings, Stolenspace, London, England (2009), and In Plain View, DFN Gallery, New York, USA (2008). He lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.