Quick Facts
Biography
Dave Archer (born David Archer Nelson on January 15, 1941) is a reverse glass painter and sculptor.
Early career
In his 2002 memoirs, Archer recalls his experiences living and working in North Beach, San Francisco in various capacities, and of the characters he met there. Some were famous and many others, such as Hoyt Axton, Janis Joplin and Steve Martin (who got their starts in San Francisco at the Fox and Hound - later called Coffee and Confusion - where Archer worked) who were up-and-coming and later became famous.
Artwork
Archer’s primary medium is reverse glass painting, which he pioneered with artist Ron Russell. The technique consists of applying paint or pigment to the underside of a glass plate then applying a million volts of electricity generated from a Tesla coil to disperse the paint into randomly generated patterns.
Recently, he has begun sculpting using found object armatures, which he then covers with an activated resin substance, using various tools to make impressions which he refers to as “markings”, then adding pigments of various colors to highlight the impressions.
Fame
Dave Archer’s paintings have been featured on Star Trek, decorating the Enterprise set on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, received screen credit in the movie Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, and was included in Star Trek Generations.
He has demonstrated the reverse-glass painting technique on over two hundred television series, including, "Eye to Eye With Connie Chung", "Beyond 2000", and Discovery Channel's "The Next Step" and "World's of Wonder".
Archer’s paintings have been on numerous book jackets including: Fantasy and Earth by Isaac Asimov; N-Space and Playgrounds of the Mind by Larry Niven; Music Physician by Don Campbell; The Oxygen Barons by Gregory Feeley; The Starry Rift and the Crown of Stars by James Tiptree, Jr.; Alastor and Planet of Adventure by Jack Vance as well as the Vance Anthology of City of the Chasch / Servants of the Wankh / The Dirdir / The Pnume
In the print media, Archer’s work was featured in Omni and National Geographic Magazine. He has also appeared in Ripley’s Believe It or Not! comic in the Sunday newspaper .
Shows
Archer’s work has been shown in the world headquarters of AT&T on Madison Avenue in New York City, and the Hayden Planetarium in Central Park in New York.
Books
- Archer’s first book, Survival Art, Painting and Sculpting for Food, Clothing and Shelter’’, was published by Coyotel Press in 2009.
- In 2009, Coyotel Press also published his collaboration with Steve Hapy, Will Taylor, and Steven Johnson Leyba titled The Trickster’s Bible: A Never Ending Book.
Chronology
- 1941: ARCHER, DAVE, painter and sculptor, born David Archer Nelson, in San Luis Obispo, January , 1941
- 1961: Elysian Art Gallery, San Francisco, California
- 1965: Unicorn Gallery, San Francisco, California
- 1965: Joker's Flux Gallery, San Francisco, California
- 1967: City Lights Bookstore, San Francisco, California
- 1967: Running Elk Gallery, San Francisco, California
- 1973: De Poliolo Gallery, Palm Springs, California
- 1974: William Stone Gallery, San Francisco, California
- 1974: Robinson's Red Door Gallery, Morro Bay, California
- 1974: Erickson's Gallery, Tiburon, California
- 1975: M.H. de Young Museum, San Francisco, California
- 1977: Glass Art Gallery, San Rafael, California
- 1978: Amber Gallery, San Francisco, California
- 1979: Westheimer Art Festival, Houston, Texas
- 1979: Sausalito Art Festival, California
- 1980: Laguna Beach Art Festival, California
- 1980: The Boulevard - Las Vegas, Nevada
- 1980: Tapestry in Talent - San Jose, California
- 1981: Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival, California
- 1981: Omni Magazine Art Show, Marshall Fields' Dept. Store, Chicago
- 1982: MGM Grand Hotel, Reno, Nevada
- 1982: Sheraton Hotel - Steamboat Springs, Colorado
- 1982: "I Got Reemed In Reem" Art Show - Reem, California
- 1983: Kersting Gallery, Sausalito, California
- 1983-1988,1991-1995: Swanson Art Galleries, San Francisco, California
- 1987: Celebration of Innovation, San Francisco, California
- 1988: Planetarium, Brussels, Belgium
- 1989: Jacqueline Westbrook Gallery, La Jolla, California
- 1989: Dyansen Gallery, San Francisco, California
- 1989: Gallery San Francisco - San Francisco, California
- 1989: The Royal Art Gallery, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
- 1989: The Pendragon Gallery, Annapolis, Maryland
- 1989: Roy's Gallery, Lawrence, Kansas
- 1989: The Omniversum, The Hague, Netherlands - One Man Show - Permanent Collection
- 1989: Imagine Tokyo `89, Tokyo, Japan
- 1989: Gallery Alternative, San Jose, California
- 1989: Addi Gallery of Coronado, California
- 1990: Phoenix Gallery, Topeka, Kansas
- 1990: San Luis Obispo Art Center, San Luis Obispo, California - One Man Homecoming Show
- 1990: Just Looking Gallery, San Luis Obispo, California
- 1990: The AT&T World Headquarters, New York, New York - One Man Show - Permanent - Collection & Exhibit
- 1990: Dyansen Gallery, San Francisco, California
- 1990-1991: Dorog Gallery, Beverly Hills, California
- 1990-1991: Hayden Planetarium, Central Park, New York -One Man Show- Permanent Collection
- 1990: BENEFIT Show - Stop The Buck - With entertainment by Grace Slick and Friends – Novato, California
- 1991: Von Der Ahe Galleries, Ltd., Monterey, California
- 1991: Dyansen Gallery, San Francisco, California
- 1991: The Vault Gallery, Cambria, California
- 1991: Ship Store Gallery, Kauai, Hawaii
- 1991: Tower Gallery, Sacramento, California
- 1991: Angel City Gallery, Los Angeles, California
- 1991: Brandywine Fantasy Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
- 1991: BENEFIT Show - Fairfax - San Anselmo Children's Center – Novato, California
- 1991: Chi-Con - World Science Fiction Convention, Chicago, Illinois
- 1991: Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, Illinois - Permanent Collection
- 1991: Whole Life Expo, San Jose, California
- 1992: Off The Wall Gallery - Huntington Beach, California
- 1992: Off The Wall Gallery - Newport Beach, California
- 1992: The Vault Gallery – Cambria, California
- 1992: Seldom Scene Gallery – Fairfax, California - With Stanley Mouse, Ralph McQuarrie and Mati Klarwein
- 1992: Metropolitan Art Gallery – Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
- 1992: Hudson River Museum – Yonkers, New York
- 1993: The Infinite Line Of Piero Manzoni - Milan, Italy - Invitational
- 1993: BENEFIT Show – Fairfax, San Anselmo Children's Center – Novato, California
- 1993: 4th Annual Mythical Realism Exhibit - Brandywine Fantasy Gallery – Chicago, Illinois
- 1993: Weinstein Gallery - San Francisco, California
- 1993: Artisan's Gallery Group Invitational - Mill Valley, California
- 1993: Vault Gallery - Cambria, California
- 1995: The Seekers Collection & Gallery - Cambria, California
- 1995: The Glass Eye Gallery - Seattle, Washington - 1995
- 1995: Southern Wind - Kinetic / Op Art Gallery - New Orleans, Louisiana
- 1996: Shibuya Pantheon - Tokyo - Japan - Premier /Star Trek Generations
- 1996: Panasonic World Headquarters – Shinagawa, Japan
- 1996: Yountchi - Rieger Fine Art - San Francisco, California
- 1997: The Glass Eye Gallery - Seattle, Washington
- 1997: Danskin Galleries - Palm Desert, California
- 1997: Yountchi-Rieger Fine Art - San Francisco, California
- 1998: Gallery Harvest – Nagoya, Japan
- 1998: The Marceline Bonorden Gallery of Fine Art - New Orleans, Louisiana
- 1998-2001: Rieger Fine Art / Artist's Studio Show and Sale – Novato, California
- 1998-2003: Gallery Harvest - Nogoya - Japan - November - 1998
- 2002: Art Encounter - Las Vegas - Nevada - 2002
- 2003: Danville Fine Arts Gallery - "Technology Creates" – Danville, California