An exercise in elegant sufficiency

There can be something very special about art outdoors: the display of large, bold pieces can make you stop, look, and interpret your surroundings in a different way. A special retrospective exhibition in Sutton (details below) gives you the rare chance to see the cumulative output of sculptor Don Davidson, whose works of art do just that. I know because two years ago I bought a piece by Don called Redfold, and it gives me pleasure and delight each and every of the several times a day that I look at it through my kitchen window. In some lights it is totally abstract, in others it becomes a mask, and in yet others a brooding face. I like the rim of snow it collects in winter and the fringe of raindrops it sports in the spring. The colour appears to change from a deep red to a burnt orange, while sometimes the surfaces look concave and sometimes convex. It brings to life and gives definition and punch to an otherwise unremarkable piece of my garden. Don Davidson’s work is at first glance deceptively simple, but it is an exercise in elegant sufficiency. The play of light and shade and the passing of the seasons ensure that his sculptures provide an ever changing and complex treat for the eye: flat planes become three dimensional, abstract forms take on different persona and the rise and fall of the sun becomes a tangible thing when played out on, over and through his pieces.

Davidson started creating his sculptures ten years ago as the most recent step in a career that started over fifty years ago in advertising at Henry Morgan & Co. in Montreal. Davidson then enrolled at Chicago’s renowned Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology and subsequently joined a highly prestigious New York architectural practice where he co-designed and oversaw exhibitions at some of New York’s leading museums, including MOMA and the Met. In 1983 Davidson retired and with his wife Dottie moved back to his childhood family home in Waterloo in the Eastern Townships. It was here that Davidson’s professional work in industrial design, coupled with the hands-on approach of his Bauhaus-based training, led him to apply his considerable creative talents to the design and construction of handcrafted furniture and lamps made mostly from metal. The pieces were sold at Farfelu, where he was an early member, and their spare, clean lines foreshadowed the abstract sculptures to which he turned ten years ago. Davidson typically works with a plate of steel in a geometric shape such as a rectangle, circle, or square. In this he makes a few simple cuts then bends or folds the steel, so creating both positive and negative forms. In many ways Davidson’s work can be likened to origami because none of the material with which he works is removed nor is anything added; it is purely the cutting and manipulation of the original material which creates the final piece. Don’s work also calls to mind the Japanese poetry form called haiku, a strict verse form which has a verbal economy but creates a rich imagery that parallels the deceptive simplicity of Don’s pieces, such as Quadra.

Davidson has exhibited regularly at Arts Sutton and at Domaine des Côtes D’Ardoise, amongst other venues, but the retrospective of Davidson’s sculpture which ran from 26 August to 3 October at Le Jardin de Sculpture in Sutton provided the first opportunity to appreciate and celebrate a significant representation of ten years of his work. The exhibition was curated by fellow sculptor Eddy Heath and featured many of Davidson’s sculptures both old and new, some of which have been lent for public viewing for the first time. It was also a chance to see some of Davidson’s timeless metal furniture. We are privileged to have artists of the calibre of Don Davidson in our midst, and maybe you will fall in love with his work as I did.

When in Sutton make it a point to visit Le Jardin de Sculpture, 18 Maple, Sutton, 450 538 3227

Lynda Graham