#dfn gallery

I remember seeing Dan Witz's artwork first through a online flash magazine. I can't remember the exact name, but it ended on -nation. I think it started with a B, but really can't remember. Anyways. I saw his 'hoodie' project, and kept digging deeper into his work. This must have been around 2003/2004 or something?

Once i started working at RELOAD magazine, i got in touch with Dan Witz, to see if he didn't want to make a cover for our magazine. This was in 2009.  Surprisingly he was very accessible and we connected right away. He made an amazing cover for his, and for the release of the issue, we had teamed up with Sid Lee to organize an exhibition with Dan's street works. Dan flew over, and we met at the airport. Right off his flight i got him onto a bike and we biked straight through Amsterdam to his hotel. The whole bike ride made a good impression on him.

While in Amsterdam we prepped the exhibition together, and went around town to put some of his street pieces up. Accompanied with journalists and photographers at different times. Metro, Parool and AT5 covered Dan's work and his exhibition. Dan loved it around the streets of Amsterdam and had an amazing time all around.

As a thank you for his time in Amsterdam, Dan had brought some publications with him. The one photographed here is called 'Up Late' and features a series of night paintings. Heavily playing with the lights in the depicted scenery's. The above pictured painting, with the lamp in front of the curtain is my favorite. A beautiful picture.  This little book was published in 2006, for his exhibition at the DFN gallery. We stayed in touch over the years and i went over to New York to meet him, and we later met up in Norway as well. Good times and good stories.

David Shevlino

From his website

My exposure to art began as a teenager growing up in NJ near NYC.  I began making trips to art museums in NYC when I was 15 and developed a love of traditional figurative painting. As a youth I found myself especially drawn to the old masters. It wasn't until much later that I became interested in modern art.  Those early trips to the museum instilled in me a love of craft and a sense of where painting comes from.  Art is like a language to me; it gives me a means of expressing the way I perceive the world around me. What I love about painting is that it has no boundaries, except for the limits of one's imagination. I can do anything I want with it.