DENNIS LEE MITCHELL

Dennis Lee Mitchell captures elusive and ephemeral smoke on paper in his unconventional drawings. He applies acetylene torches directly to the surface of archival paper, creating rich brown-blacks and faint gradations left by moving smoke. The finished works require multiple preparatory drawings, as Mitchell attempts to chart the course of airborne solid and liquid particles. The resulting imagery evokes natural forms such as landscapes and plants yet remains captivatingly abstract.

 

Mitchell holds an MFA in Ceramics from Arizona State University, and both an MA and a BA in Ceramics from Fort Hays Kansas State University. Mitchell is an emeritus Professor of Art at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. His work is held in public and private collections internationally, including the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City; the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; the Illinois State Art Museum, Chicago; the Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin. Mitchell exhibits his work in art fairs and galleries nationally such as the C. Grimaldis Gallery in Baltimore, MD, Zolla Leiberman Gallery in Chicago, IL and the William Havu Gallery in Denver, CO.