Education
1991 – M.F.A University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign
1991 – Fellowship in painting awarded 1988.
1985 – B.F.A & B.S.E Northern Illinois University, Dekalb
Studied painting with Joseph Wood; student of Josef Albers, Bauhaus Master

Solo Exhibitions

2012 – Animal Tales, Linda Warren Projects, Chicago, IL
2008 – Herron School of Design, University of Indianapolis, IN
2005 – Old Town Triangle Gallery, Chicago, IL
2002 – Joymore Gallery, Chicago, IL
1999 – Morton College Gallery, Cicero, IL
1993 – The Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago, IL
1991 – Gallery Nine, Champaign, IL

Group Exhibitions

2016 – Rockford Midwestern Biennial, Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL
2010 – “Abstraction”, Big Dog Gallery, Dekalb , IL
2007 – “Goosetopia”, Illinois Institute of Art, Chicago, IL
2006 – Baltizar Castillo Space, Chicago, IL
2004 – “Disrupting the Image”, Ukrainian Museum of Modern Art, Chicago, IL
2004 – “Some Fresh Cuts From Chicago”, Art Post, Grafton, WI
2003 – “Lill Street Art Center Faculty Show”, Chicago IL
2003 – “Biennial”, New Vision Gallery, Marshfield, WI
2003 – Juror, Michele Rowe-Shields, Visual Art Director, Montalvo
2002 – “12 By 12”, Suburban Fine Arts Center, Highland Park, IL
2002 – Juror, Lynne Warren, Curator, Museum Of Contemporary Art, Chicago, Illinois
2002 – “Midwest Biennial”, New Visions Gallery, Marshfield, WI
2002 – Juror, Paul Kline, Art Professor Emeritus, Bridgewater College, Virginia
2002 – “Midwest Biennial”, Fort Wayne Art Museum, Fort Wayne, IN
2000 – “The Salon Show”, PI Gallery, Chicago, IL
1999 – “Butter”, Margin Gallery, Chicago, IL
1998 – “Link 22”, Jan Cicero, Chicago, IL
1997 – “Small Works”, Suburban Fine Arts Center, Highland Park, IL
1996 – “Optimus Face Lift”, Optimus Inc., Chicago, IL
1995 – “Fuse”, Northern Illinois University Gallery, Chicago, IL
1994 – “Toy Bomb”, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL
1993 – Old Town Triangle Gallery, Chicago, IL
1992 – “New Talent”, The Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago, IL
1992 – “Sentimental Art Show”, The Beret Gallery, Chicago, IL
1990 – “All Big Ten Art Show”, Milwaukee School Of Art, Milwaukee WI
1988 – “Graduate Painters of Illinois”, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
1987 – Norris Cultural Center, Saint Charles, IL,
1987 – Juror, Elizabeth Nueman, Artist

Professional Experience

2000-2001 – NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, Chicago, IL
Instructor, Taught one section of basic drawing.

2000 – WRIGHT COLLEGE, Chicago, IL
Instructor, Taught two sections of basic drawing.

1999 – TRITON COLLEGE, River Grove
Instructor, Taught two sections of basic drawing.

1998-1999 – NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, Dekalb, IL
Visiting Assistant Professor, Taught two sections of basic drawing.

1989-1991 – UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, Urbana-Champaign, IL
Instructor, Taught one section of basic drawing and one section of basic painting.

Additional Teaching Experience

1998-2002 – LILL STREET ART CENTER, Chicago, IL
1996-1997 – SUBURBAN FINE ARTS CENTER, Highland Park, IL
1984-1997 – PARK RIDGE PARK DISTRICT, Park Ridge, IL

Honors and Activities

1998, 2002 – RAGDALE FOUNDATION, Lake Forest, IL
Artist Residency

1997 – NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, Dekalb, IL
Lectured to painting students at my studio.

1992 – ELGIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Elgin, IL
Visiting Artist

1995 – OFFICE OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS, Chicago, IL
Community Artist Assistance Grant

1988-1989 – UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS, Urbana-Champaign, IL
Graduate Fellowship in Painting

Bibliography
Mary-Liz Shaw, “Art, Grafton Gallery to Host Chicago Artists” Milwaukee Journal, November 19, 2004
Fred Camper, “Critics Choice”, Chicago Reader, August 20, 2004
Michael Bulka, “Artists Who Deserve More Exposure”, Chicago Art Critics Association

Each of my paintings in the Strain Series brings into question the notion of iconic color representation. Like a child with food coloring, I am calling into question our belief system. Why can’t a pumpkin be blue, green, red? Why do apples have to be made a certain red by food scientists? What will happen if we make them blue? I try to create paintings that compel the viewer to accept this change while knowing all to well they have been taught to be put off by this notion. It is this tension that I seek, the dichotomy between the accepted and the possible. I am trying to question our assumptions about color meaning by using an eclectic style of painting that combines still life painting, comic thought bubbles, abstract painting motifs, and unnatural color combinations. The medium of painting allows me to combine these styles to create a situation in which the viewer is forced to question their own assumptions about color meanings. Each style in my painting is chosen for this purpose. The color in the still life section is selected for its unnaturalness. The comic thought bubbles are often connected, perhaps questioning their own existence. The abstract shapes in the backgrounds of my paintings are motifs found in 20th century nonobjective painting. These shapes often represent some of the utopian ideals my eclectic approach calls into question. I have chosen the medium painting to present this body of work because painting has the power to show the unseen. It can invent situations that allow me to question societies commonly held meanings. My work is formed to bring up these questions.

-David Reninger