Dale Kirschenman
BFA, ASA
Biography
Dale Kirschenman grew up in the country near Medicine Hat, Alberta. He studied painting at The Alberta University of the Arts, graduating in 1998 with a Bachelor of Fine Art in Painting. In his work he references his personal photo archives, creating paintings that explore landscape in a variety of styles ranging from realism to abstraction
In addition to his painting practice, Dale has taught painting classes for the “Summer Series Program” at Red Deer College and he has also taught plein air painting at the Alberta University of the Arts. He has facilitated painting workshops at the Leighton Centre and art appreciation tours for the City of Calgary. Dale is currently hosting a weekly class for a group of painters in his home studio. Living and working in Calgary, the surrounding prairie, mountains and sky continue to influence and inspire him in his painting and photography.
Dale Kirschenman is represented by The Edge Gallery in Calgary and Canmore, and by Rowles and Co. Gallery in Edmonton. His paintings are present in the collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Civic Art Collection of the City of Calgary as well as numerous private and corporate collections in Canada and abroad.
Artist Statement
My paintings are allusions to real or imagined landscapes and architectural spaces. Elements of landscape and atmosphere present a transcendent space where memory and emotion rise to the surface.
I am inspired by the landscape painters of the nineteenth century, the abstract expressionists of the twentieth century and the expressionist landscape painters of the current era. I like to think of my work as a kind of abstract impressionism that springs from memory and personal history within the landscape.
Some of the paintings depict wild or violent atmospheric events which at times verge on the surreal, while others present the viewer with a more transcendent space where memory and emotion can rise to the surface. Often the details are obscured or absent, reflecting the ethereal and transitory.
While my paintings are not meant to be overtly political, they may suggest environmental changes in nature during our time. If they present as beautiful or intriguing, or if they simply provide a respite from the pace of life in the twenty first century, I am gratified.
Kirschenman-Dale-Dark-Storm-5-2019-oil-on-canvas-36inX72in
© Dale Kirschenman Dark Storm 5 2019 Oil 36×72
Kirschenman-Dale-Abstract-5-acrylic-on-canvas-42in-X-48in
© Dale Kirschenman Abstract 5 Acrylic 42×48