David Packer

David Packer is a New York based artist who works in a variety of media: sculpture, drawing, and artist books. The subject matter is that of the everyday: vehicles, plastic water bottles, car engines, dogs, bears, and other animals that come from different areas of interest: technology, industry, and the natural world. “He cleverly manipulates prevailing contemporary ideology to grand effect, making aesthetically pleasing art with socially critical impact.” Content and media Packer’s process includes distinct and different, but all inter-related, media, beginning with an enormous collection of photographic images, both analog and digital. As he notes, “My process now is much more image based, in terms of what I will see in an object, if I find an object with resonance, with a depth of meaning.” The resonance, that informs the content of all the work, regardless of media, may include “industry, corporations, how the land is being used, how corporations are taking stuff from the land.” Large scale, serial works on paper, including mixed media collages, drawings, and highly detailed plans are “patiently and methodically constructed with mechanical precision” and “beautifully conceived and meticulously drawn.” These drawings are crucial to the design and construction of the ensuing sculptures as well as functioning at the same time as independent works of art. The artist books that Packer has made, some unique, some collaged, and some limited edition, parallel the work on paper.