Fantasy plays an important role in David Willburn’s studio practice, because it lends itself easily to abstraction and provides him with a basis for addressing the complex conversations of our time. Themes of making maps, reconstructing landscapes, building monuments, and references to structures and dwellings are central in the work. These things are negotiated within the intersection of fine art and craft as a way to democratize and navigate social and political ideas and histories.

David Willburn
Prunus Persica Chews Your Thoughts and Prayers for
Nest Building, 2021
acrylic, muslin, canvas on board
51 cm x 41 cm
Price Available Upon Request
© David Willburn

David Willburn
Mapping and Marking l, 2021
ink, archival inkjet print, acrylic on canvas on board
46 cm x 36 cm
Price Available Upon Request
© David Willburn

David Willburn
Mapping and Marking ll, 2021
ink, archival inkjet print, acrylic on canvas on board
36 cm x 46 cm
Price Available Upon Request
© David Willburn
ALL SALES PROCEEDS GO DIRECTLY TO THE ARTIST.
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Artist Profile
Education
MFA in Visual Art, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier, Vermont, 2004
Solo Exhibitions
2021
Stories About Monuments and Landscapes, FLXST Contemporary, Chicago, Illinois, USA
2020
Eight Parts. Platform Gallery, Seattle, Washington, USA
2019
Rainbow Riot at the Snowflake Ball, Carneal Simmons Contemporary Art, Dallas, Texas, USA
2018
The World is the Teapot and the Cup. Platform Gallery, Seattle, Washington, USA
2017
Queer the Materials! Fortify the Domestic! Stone the Hegemony!, Galleri Urbane, Dallas, Texas, USA
2016
Skadüchi: Dispatches from Make-Believe, Boehm Gallery, Palomar College, San Marcos, California, USA
2015
Curve of Forgetting, Galleri Urbane, Dallas, Texas, USA
Taking Things Apart, Ground Floor Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
2011
The Overuse of Everything, Dallas Contemporary, Dallas, Texas, USA
Group Exhibitions
2020
From Chaos to Order: Making Our Way in the New World of Covid-19, The Delaware Contemporary, Delaware, USA
2017
Diverge/Convene: Contemporary Mixed Media
curators: Ginger Shulick Porcella, Kate McNamara, San Diego Art Institute, San Diego, California, USA
2016
Texas Draws: A Survey of Contemporary Drawing
curator: Mary Mikel Stump, The Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, Texas, USA
2015
Women’s Work: Masculinity and Gender in Contemporary Fiber Arts
curator: Ginger Shulick Porcella, San Diego Art Institute, San Diego, California, USA
53rd Annual International Show, juror: David A. Ross, San Diego Art Institute, San Diego, CA, USA
2014
The Artist’s Alphabet, juror: Jodi Hays, Ground Floor Gallery, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Art in the Metroplex, juror: Sara-Jayne Parsons, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
2013
Object! Object!, Helmuth Projects, San Diego, California, USA
2012
Town and Country, Brand10 Art Space, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Publications
2017
Maria Zemtsova, editor, Art Maze Magazine, “Editorial Selection of Works.” Summer, 2017
2016
Charissa M. Terranova, PhD., Peripheral Vision Arts,
“The Object-Oriented Ontology of David Willburn’s Embroidered Paintings.” September, 2016.
Ekaterina Popova, Maria Zemtsova, Eds. Fresh Paint Magazine, Spring, 2016
2013
Lara Bullock, Lauren Lockhart. Object Object!: A Selection of Smaller Works. San Diego: Good Good Things, 2013
2009
Frédérique Joseph-Lowery, “Embroidery Goes Contemporary.” Art Press 352 Jan. 2009
2007
David R. McFadden, Pricked: Extreme Embroidery. New York City: Museum of Arts and Design
Works

David Willburn
Prunus Persica Chews Your Thoughts and Prayers for
Nest Building, 2021
acrylic, muslin, canvas on board
51 cm x 41 cm
Price Available Upon Request
© David Willburn

David Willburn
Mapping and Marking l, 2021
ink, archival inkjet print, acrylic on canvas on board
46 cm x 36 cm
Price Available Upon Request
© David Willburn

David Willburn
Mapping and Marking ll, 2021
ink, archival inkjet print, acrylic on canvas on board
36 cm x 46 cm
Price Available Upon Request
© David Willburn