For immediate release: July 13, 2011
Contact: Christine Serr, 720-404-5074
Gallery 1261 presents
Three McCaws: Two Generations
September 2, 2011
Opening Reception: Sep 2, 5-9 pm; Gallery talk with the artists: Sep 30, 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Denver, CO. Trio of artists Dan McCaw and his sons John and Danny have discovered a
natural alchemy flowing out of the process of working in close proximity, in their case, a former
ballet studio in southern California. Though each artist creates unique paintings independently
from the others, their work is pushed forward through the sharing of ideas and synergy that
happens. We at Gallery 1261 are proud to bring the work of all three McCaws together in
Denver, offering patrons strong, lush and challenging show of expressionism to abstraction, as
well as a deeper look into the creative process.
Dan McCaw is one of America's most highly respected contemporary impressionists. Raised in
the mining town of Butte, Montana, McCaw began sketching and drawing at an early age. In
1962 he began his formal art training with a scholarship to the San Francisco Academy of Art.
Two years later, he was offered a position as an illustrator with a commercial art firm in Los
Angeles. The move south proved to be a fortuitous; he was able to pursue his fine art at the Art
Center College of Design where he fell under the spell of the great European Masters, including
Joaquin Sorrolla, whose work has had a lasting influence on his ideas about light and design. In
recent years, Dan’s paintings have become more expressionist. He credits Eduard Vuillard,
Pierre Bonnard, Gustav Klimt and the Abstract Expressionists for helping him to develop a
heightened awareness in his work and not to rigorously conform to the literal representation of
the subject. A skilled and discerning interpreter of color harmonies, light and mood, the core of
McCaw's work is based on expressing feeling and emotions with the fewest elements, that less is
more. "My primary interest lies in going beyond the technique in order to interpret the subject in
different ways and expand on that interpretation to make a personal statement. Creativity lies in
uncertainty because your solution can be anything." In 2007, Dan received an Honorary
Doctorate from the San Francisco Academy of Art.
Born in 1967, John McCaw is the eldest son of Dan McCaw. Although clearly influenced by
each other, John articulates a unique vision and creativity, and has chosen to tap into his
emotional resources where spontaneity and instinct play a major role in the development and
physicality of his art. Working with abstracted form, he absorbs his environment, placing no
limits on his imagination, and brings to his canvases not only his sensibilities but also the
relationship between inner passion and the outer expression of site, mind and body. Many of
these pieces suggest universal themes, such as human relationships, religion, graphic symbols,
modern culture and so on. Of his desire to create art that accurately reflects the purity of a unique
experience, he said, “Art is the external expression of an internal emotion.”
Younger brother Danny McCaw began drawing and painting at an early age, where materials
and family encouragement were in abundance. His youthful drawings and paintings soon
developed into mature sensitive individual statements. His life is constantly immersed in a rich
atmosphere of painters, poets, and photographers, where the air is filled with creativity and
imagination. Besides the constant guidance of his father, Danny has studied Art at the Scottsdale
Art School, and with one of America's leading figure painters, Steve Huston. To Danny, the
search for his own individuality is of the utmost importance. His Art is full of honesty and
creativity, and it is constantly enriched by his inquisitive nature, his desire to find his own voice,
and his effort to create lasting impressions.
For more information and images, please contact gallery director Christine Serr, 720-404-5074
or e-mail info@abendgallery.com.
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