David Ligare

California painter David Ligare describes himself as a “Post-Modern, Neo-Classical American Artist” (I love that term, “Post-Modern”), and draws much of his inspiration from Classical Greek culture, rather than from the Renaissance based revival of those cultural influences.

You can see that influence in his landscapes and figurative work. I’m particularly fascinated by his beautiful still life paintings, in which the arrangements are set up in an outdoor box, a kind of polar opposite of a traditional still life “shadow box”, and painted as bathed in brilliant California sunlight.

There is a gallery of work on his website, along with an essay on his influences and approach, and a brief interview.

Ligare received his formal training at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, and his work is in the collections of a number of museums, including The Museum of Modern Art in New York, The Department of Drawings and Prints at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the De young Museum in San Francisco and the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford, CT.

There is an essay on Ligare by curator Patricia Junker on TFAOI and an informative post on eklektx.

In addition to the gallery on his website, you can get a quick overview of his work in posts on Best Bookmarks and BOOOOOOOOM!