Many of my paintings and photographs reflect a key facet of my art, a love for the Australian wilderness that dates back to the 1970’s, when I spent a year exploring the entire continent in an old Volkswagen van. I have been back on various occasions, inspiring numerous paintings and photographic series. In 2013 I was Artist-in-Residence at the Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery in Queensland, in conjunction with an international exchange exhibition between galleries in Las Cruces and Queensland. More recently I was the December 2018 Artist-in-Residence at the Q-PopUp Gallery, New South Wales. Both events featured my Aussie and Southwestern art.
David Sorensen
Following a 26-year, defense-related career, I was encouraged by an Australian art critic and others to pursue art as a professional career, starting in 2009. I was subsequently inducted as a Signature Member of the National Watercolor Society and have been in numerous exhibitions at national, state and local levels. I have had four solo exhibitions since 2010, one of which was selected by Veer Magazine as one of the “Top Ten Visual Arts” events of 2011. I was very active in the art community of the Hampton Roads area of Virginia until moving to New Mexico in July 2012. I was one of the founding members of the Peninsula Watercolor Society, a Signature Member and former Vice-President of the Virginia Watercolor Society, and have taught, given demonstrations, installed, and juried exhibitions in Australia, New York, Virginia and Texas. My paintings and photographs have been featured in the Las Cruces Museum of Art, and in various galleries around southern New Mexico. Las Cruces Magazine featured me as one of the “59 Area Artists You’ll Want To Meet” in 2014/2015. I was invited to join the select group of The Border Artists in 2019.
My artwork can be found in private, institutional, and corporate collections world-wide. I have various commissions in progress at any given time. My photography is represented in the Rio Bravo Fine Arts gallery. In addition to the Outback, subjects include those from my childhood in the Caribbean, visits with close friends/artists in Denmark, and other international travels. My primary media are watercolor and photography, but I have worked in oil and acrylic, sculpted, designed mobiles, illustrated children’s books, and painted a large mural. I have also created a range of crafts. I prefer a realistic style to reflect the natural beauty in both small and large subjects.
“There is a very subtle psychological resonance in (his) approach to light that invokes remembered experience.” (Dr. Sally Butler, Australian Art Collector Magazine)
Key Exhibitions:
- Featured Artist – Q-PopUp Gallery, New South Wales, Australia (December, 2018)
- Solo show, El Paso Electric Gallery, South of the Rio Grande Theatre, Las Cruces, NM (November 2 – December 3, 2012)
- Special exhibition of “The David Sorensen Collection,” Charles H. Taylor Arts Center, Hampton, VA (September 3 – October 16, 2011) — Veer Magazine’s “Top 10 Visual Arts”
- Solo show, “Artist of the Month,” Bronxville Women’s Club, NY (March 6 – 25, 2011)
- Solo show, “Australia” – Forty watercolor landscapes at Newcomb Hall Art Gallery, University of Virginia (April 30 – September 4, 2010)
- Las Cruces Space Festival – “Dawn of Discovery” (on-line Pop-Up) (Mar-Oct, 2020)
- “Erotica Twenty Twenty” – InEffect Gallery, Las Cruces (February 14-16, 2020)
- The Border Artists Winter Show – Dona Ana Arts Council (Dec 2, 2019-Jan 2, 2020)
- The Border Artists – Rio Bravo Fine Arts, Truth or Consequences (Aug 10-Sep 22, 2019)
- “Erotica Twenty Eighteen” – InEffect Gallery, Las Cruces (February 8-10, 2019)
- “Here&Now” – juried regional exhibit – LCMA & NMSU Art Gallery (May 11-July 21, 2018)
- “Erotica Twenty Eighteen” – InEffect Gallery, Las Cruces (February 9-11, 2018)
- Four Points Perspective Gallery Inauguration, Las Cruces (Nov 11, 2017-January, 2018)
- “The Las Cruces 9” – Rio Bravo Fine Arts, Truth or Consequences (Oct 2017-May 2018)
- “Grey Scale: An Exhibition of Black & White Photography”, Las Cruces, March 2017
- 37rd Virginia Watercolor Society Juried Exhibition (May 20 – June 25, 2016)
- New Mexico Watercolor Society-Southern Chapter Spring Show (April 1 – May 25, 2016)
- “The Sensual Erotica Show” – IN EFFECT Gallery (12-14 February, 2016)
- “Union of Flames” – Firebird Rising Fine Arts (November 7, 2015 – January 2, 2016)
- New Mexico Watercolor Society’s 2015 Fall Exhibition (October 4 – 25, 2015)
- “Here&Now” – juried regional exhibit – Las Cruces Museum of Art (May 2-July 25, 2015)
- “Wide Bay/High Desert,” international USA-Australian exchange exhibit with Unsettled Gallery & Childers Art Space (1 October – 30 November, 2013)
- “Taking Off with Georgia” – Black Box Theatre Gallery (July 25 – August 7, 2013)
- “A Round Dozen” New Mexico Watercolor Society-Southern Chapter (May 3-25, 2013)
- “Nudes, The Human Artform,” West End Art Depot Gallery (May 3-6, 2013)
- “For the Love of Color” – Las Cruces Arts Association (February 1-23, 2013)
- “Amor de Las Cruces” – City of Artists, Mesquite Gallery (February 9 – March 4, 2013)
- “Art of Collective Awareness,” West End Art Depot Gallery (October 2012)
- “Down in the Valley” Adobe Patio Gallery Invitational (September 14 – October, 2012)
- City of Artists Fall Exhibition (September 7 – October 26, 2012)
- 33rd Virginia Watercolor Society Juried Exhibition (April 14 – May 27, 2012)
- Hampton Arts League Open Members Exhibition 2012 (January 28 – February 26, 2012)
- National Watercolor Society’s 91st Annual Exhibition (2011)
- Central Virginia Watercolor Guild’s Annual Juried Exhibition (November 1-20, 2011)
- Small Works 2011: Miniatures by Tidewater Artists (October 27 – December 4, 2011)
- Peninsula Fine Arts Center Invitational Fundraising Auction (June 25, 2011)
- 32nd Virginia Watercolor Society Juried Exhibition (May 6 – June 4, 2011)
- Shenandoah Valley Arts Center invitational May Show (May 5 – 31, 2011)
- Beaux Arts, 64th Annual Exhibit, Westchester, NY (March 30 – April 30, 2011)
- Tidewater Arts Alliance Members’ Portfolio Exhibit (March 4 – April 10, 2011)
- Central Virginia Watercolor Guild’s “A Little Light Magic” (March 3 – April 30, 2011)
- Hampton Arts League Open Members Exhibition 2011 (January 29 – February 27, 2011)
- Small Works 2010: Miniatures by Tidewater Artists (October 23 – December 5, 2010)
- Virginia Artists 2010 Juried Exhibition (July 18 – August 29, 2010)
- Halls of Art at the Hampton Roads Convention Center (June 25 – November 18, 2010)
- Tidewater: Watermedia by Hampton Roads Artists (May 21 – July 11, 2010)
- 31st Virginia Watercolor Society Juried Exhibition (May 15 – July 4, 2010)
- National Watercolor Society’s 89th Annual Exhibition (2009) – Signature Member
Artist-In-Residence:
- Q Pop Up Gallery, Kew, Australia (December 2018)
- Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery (BRAG), Australia (23 September – 31 October, 2013)
Demonstrations/Teaching/Education:
- Demonstrations for Q-PopUp Gallery (2018)
- Demonstration for the New Mexico Watercolor Society-Southern Chapter (2015)
- Demonstration for the Bronxville Women’s Club (2015)
- Demonstration for the 33rd Virginia Watercolor Society Juried exhibition (2012)
- Demonstrations for “The Sorensen Collection” Exhibition (2011)
- Guest Instructor for watercolors, Grafton High School AP art classes III/IV (2009-2010)
- University of Pennsylvania, BA in Regional Science (1978)
Judging/Installations:
- Judge/Juror for the Rio Bravo Watercolorist “Arts of March,” El Paso, TX (March, 2013)
- Installation of the 64th Annual Beaux Arts Exhibition, Bronxville, NY (April, 2011)
- Juror for the Bronxville High School Art Exhibition (June, 2011)
Institutional Collections:
- Taylor-Barela-Reynolds-Mesilla State Monument
- Virginia Air & Space Center, Hampton, Virginia – Permanent Collection
- City of Hampton, Virginia – Permanent Collection
- Bronxville Women’s Club, New York – Permanent Collection
- Nexight Group, LLC , Washington DC
- Assure Programs, Ltd, Brisbane, Australia
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