In the last four decades, David Packer has used ceramics as a sculptural medium to highlight industrial, political and environmental concerns. This is supported by a prolific drawing, collage, and book-making practice where images from the world are obsessively collected and catalogued, in either physical form or from the Internet. Images range from the poetic, such as animals, and plants, through information issues like maps and lists, to heavy industry such as shipping containers, trains, and car engines.
David Packer was born in England and has lived in the United States since 1983, including Miami and New York. He graduated from Florida State University, Tallahassee, with an M.F.A. in 1994. Highlights of his substantial exhibition record include Exit Art and the Garth Clark Gallery, both in New York City, as well as Navta Schultz Gallery, Chicago. He has participated in international shows in Morocco, France, and Japan. As a curator, his work has been included three times in the Spring Break Art Fair. He has also been in residence at Yaddo, the Kohler Arts/Industry program, all in the United States, as well as AIR Vallauris in France. In both 2011 and 2019, he was the recipient of a Fulbright Scholar award to research and teach ceramics in Morocco. He also recently published a book about Moroccan ceramics entitled The Earth has Three Colors. David maintains a studio in Long Island City, New York.
