William Dunlap Exhibition
Walker Hound & Red Roof
Truly American art unapologetically reflects American culture and landscape. Throughout the country's relatively short history many popular styles have come in and out of fashion. One of the most difficult feats facing artists is to create timeless work, despite the ever-changing ideals and sensibility. To achieve this timeless quality, an artist must find the delicate balance between tradition and modernism.
The Art Cellar Gallery is fortunate to represent artists of every stylistic background from traditional to modern. One artist that welcomes the challenge of portraying timelessness in America is William Dunlap.
Renowned artist, William Dunlap is not only a visual artist - painting classic American landscape with familiar architecture - he is also a published author of multiple books. He is a storyteller and a scholar, a teacher and a lifelong student. Born and raised in Mississippi, William earned his Masters Degree from the University of Mississippi before teaching at Appalachian State from 1970-1979. Shortly after finishing his career at Appalachian State, William became a full time studio artist maintaining studio locations in Florida, Virginia and Mississippi. His work is included in public and private collections nationally - most notably in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Gallery of Art, and in United States Embassies throughout the world.
William is all too familiar with the rural side of the United States which is frequently reflected in his paintings. Characterized by rich windswept skies, roadside agricultural buildings, and his grandfather’s walker hounds; William calls his content ‘hypothetical realism.’ “The specific places and events evoked in the work may not be real, but then again, they could be.” He composes a unique mix of familiar landscapes and architecture in an unfamiliar way, each element portrayed in his work is recognizable but hard to pinpoint as far as a specific location.
Among the many new paintings William has turned over to the Art Cellar for display, he has also recently published a new book: Lying And Making A Living.
“Here are some short stories and a novella, all new yet from the same place as my first collection, Short Mean Fiction: Words and Pictures. Not found this time but fashioned in the years since the publication of SMF… The situation and people here described bear no resemblance to those who might be living or dead. The footnotes with all their incongruity are my inventions and every story has one. The title of this volume is taken from a quote by the late Barry Hannah who once ended an interview saying, “I’ve got to get back to lying and making a living.” As fine and fair a definition of fiction as one could want.” - William Dunlap
An exhibition for William Dunlap will be held at The Art Cellar Gallery Sunday, June 27 through Saturday, July 10. Join us for a chance to interact with William and his artwork at an open house on Sunday, June 27 from 4 to 6pm. We have prepared a very exciting line-up for this summer season which will feature other artists including Tony Griffin, Gregory Smith, Noyes Capehart and Raymond Chorneau. Visit www.artcellargallery.com for a full season schedule!