David Butler

Bio

David Butler (1898-1997) began obsessively filling his Louisiana yard and covering the facade of his house with artwork after retiring from his job at a sawmill following a work-related injury and the death of his wife. He created colorful cut-tin sculptural assemblages in the forms of fantastic creatures, mermaids and wild animals, designing many of these works to be kinetic whirligig-like pieces that shifted in the wind. Butler’s metal forms were then painted with bright enamel paint and adorned with a variety of found objects, often including plastic Mardi Gras beads. While much of his artwork was mobile (he was famous for the highly decorated bike he rode), even the stationary pieces he created over his windows cast shadows that were constantly in motion. Much of the artist’s imagery was intended to serve as protection, as Butler believed these “spirit shields” sheltered his home, and himself, from life’s anxieties and unfriendly forces.

CV

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2021

Dragon Wagon and Animal Carousel, Online Exhibition, SHRINE, New York, NY

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2023

Death of an Outsider, SHRINE, Los Angeles, CA

2021

HOME, SHRINE, New York, NY

2018

Outliers and American Vanguard Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Revelations: Art from the African American South, De Young Museum, San Franisco, CA

COLLECTIONS

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.

Souls Grown Deep, Atlanta, GA

 

Untitled, paint, metal, plastic and wire, 14 x 49 x 6 in.


Untitled, paint, metal, wood and wire, 13 x 12 x 1.5 in.


Untitled, 10.5 x 9.5 x 6.5 in.


Untitled, 1980, Mixed media assemblage


Untitled (figure with hat on boat), ca 1980s, enamel paint on cut-metal, 18.5 x 20.5 x 1 in.


Untitled (man riding creature), ca 1980s, enamel paint on cut-metal, 17 x 23.25 x 1 in.


Untitled (red creature), ca 1980s, enamel paint on cut-metal, 12.5 x 17 x 0.75 in.


Untitled (man on moon with creature), ca 1980s, enamel paint on cut-metal, 24 x 22 x 2 in.