From Feb. 7 to Mar. 21, the Beatrice M. Haggerty Gallery is presenting “Daniel Heyman: The World Has Gone Crazy and So Am I.”
The press release of the exhibit says, “the works are a part of his ongoing conversation with art and artists conducted through pictures. The works feature spontaneous sketches and layered drawings in mediums like sumi ink, graphite, and gouache.”
Laura Post, Associate Professor of Printmaking and the host of Heyman, added, “The works in this exhibition are all created on handmade paper made by the artist, with a few exceptions from professional papermakers.
They are all paintings with one print that could all also be considered drawings. Daniel plays with the format, using multiple sheets to create a larger image or creating books that extend a narrative over pages but can also be pulled out into one long image.”
In his artistic statement for the exhibit, for which he drew from European and Japanese influences, Heyman says, “I resist the digital not as an act of defiance, but as an act of love for the physicality of being. I see my images as part of the great conversations of art as it endlessly cycles through the past, the present and the future and moves across cultures.
“I am invested in communicating with other artists through the non-verbal arena of pictures, happy to let go of the tribal misunderstandings that arise through the limits of language and adherence to academic theories.”
His titular piece, “The World has Gone Crazy and So Am I” (2025), features a man of black skin and blue face. Heyman also includes two heads at the feet of the man and they appeared to be blacked and burned.
The background is radially spiraling from his head, giving the impression of a classical stained glass window. But Japanese influence shows itself in the bright oranges and blues and the swirling curlicues overlaying the piece.
Another piece filled with Japanese influences is “Boy Swimmer” (2024). A piece spread over four panels of blank paper, the Boy is only shown in bits and pieces coming out of the paper: a face, a knee, an arm, all painted in delicate blue and black ink strokes. As with many of the pieces in the collection, the face of the Boy is one of sorrow and it is unclear if he is crying.
Following the theme of heads and faces, Heyman has a total of 13 pieces where the sole subject is a bust. Very few of them actually feature a “normal” face, however; few of them are a singular face at all.
The faces are usually all facing different directions, or coming wearing another face as a split mask, or reminiscent of political caricature drawings. This “double-facedness” is obviously a very important concept for Heyman, asking the audience to consider the facets and layers of humans in a “I don’t want to look, but I can’t stop” type of way.
Additionally, Heyman’s arrival will revive the Matrix Editions Program at the Art Department. Post explains, “An edition is a group of prints that are all the same and this will be equivalent to the UD printmakers creating a professional set of works that will go on sale for members of the Matrix Editions program.
“Daniel will be coming here in order to work with the printmaking students to create a Matrix Edition. We are excited to be restarting this program after a 5 year hiatus.”
The Opening Reception for “The World Has Gone Crazy and So Am I” will be Thursday, Mar. 13 from 5:30-7:30pm, with remarks from Heyman at 6pm in the Art History Building.