Daniel F. Gerhartz 1965 | Kewaskum, Wisconsin

Gerhartz was born in Wisconsin in 1965 where he now lives with his wife Jennifer and their three young children. His interest in art piqued at an early age when a teenage friend suggested they spend one dreary afternoon drawing. It was at that moment that he discovered his lifework. Daniel began his art education at the American Academy of Art in Chicago where he studied in the classical tradition and immersed himself in applications of technique and design. After a brief stint in commercial art, he began pursuing fine art; visiting museums to study master works and painting alongside contemporary artists. Daniel found his passion in painting from life. This direct approach to working with the figure and landscape allowed him to see and attempt to capture the infinite nuances of light, color, and form. This continues to drive his enthusiasm today. Since then he has been featured in solo and group shows across the country and has won several awards at prominent national invitational exhibitions and his work has been collected both nationally and internationally. The artist’s skillful and technically adept work celebrates the created world, the human form, personal relationships with a connection to landscapes and environments of special importance. Many of his figures are dressed in dramatic clothing which he often invents for its aesthetic appeal and lyrical quality so as to achieve a sense of other worldliness. His subjects evoke a timelessness and idealism, yet for the most part Dan has drawn upon his home and community, including family and friends, for subject matter. His sense of intimacy and honesty with regard to his subjects are a direct result of his closeness and proximity to them. A projection of tranquility, repose and rich introspection result from his knowledge of the content of his art. In Gerhartz’ pictures the ordinary or commonplace is transformed into a higher reality and consequently a sense of greater importance. Emotions are a vital part of his express design, while his mastery of anatomy, the human form and complex surfaces combine to make his canvases very powerful visual experiences.