D.E. May

Dan Earl May, also known as D. E. May, (March 28, 1952 – February 27, 2019) was an American artist. Known in Northwest art circles for his drawings and constructions using found materials that "suggests they are documents or tools left over from the [building] and planning of something larger" whose "purpose is now lost and can only be imagined." His work is in the collections of numerous art museums, primarily in the Northwest.

Profiles of May noted his quirks. His workroom was dark, the windows covered with fiberboard, the room lit by desk lamps. (He described himself as nocturnal; a reporter of one profile was instructed not to call until after 1 p.m.) His found materials - scraps of cardboard, old maps, old papers, old stamps - were stored in stacks of catalogued cardboard boxes.

In Oregon Artswatch, writers Anna Gray and Ryan Wilson Paulsen noted "his meticulous abstractions hold a subtle magic. They appear as both documents of the past and proposals for a future architecture..."

In its biography for May to accompany its collection of his work, the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, said, "May's refined abstractions speak to his interest in storied materials that reflect time and place as well as to an artistic process that transforms the banal and forgotten into objects of contemplation." It quotes May: "I have always been drawn to the non archival. The work I do may not be here forever, but it will probably see us out."

Publications

Inland Waterways: Correspondence, produced by Marquand Editions, Tieton, WA. Funding provided by The Ford Foundation. 2017

The Template Files: Works by D.E. May, printed by Publications Studio. Layout by Kazu Ohashi. Essay by Anna Gray and Ryan Wilson Paulsen. 2010

D.E. May: The Occupations, published by The Art Gym. 2003

Awards

2013 Ford Family Foundation, Hallie Ford Fellowship 2008 Contemporary Northwest Art Awards finalist, Portland Art Museum 1996 Juror’s Award, Willamette Valley Juried Exhibition, Mary Ann Deffenbaugh, Juror 1995 Juror’s Award, Oregon Biennial, William A. Fagaly, Juror 1992 Art Matters Grant

Solo exhibitions

2023 From the Archives: Notes and Plans, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon 2022 D. E. May Archive Project, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon 2019 Dan May: Artworks by D.E. May, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon 2015 No Specific Region, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon 2014 Half Distance, LAXART, Los Angeles, California 2013 Memory of Line: Grids, Templates and Miniatures, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon 2013 Volta NY, with PDX Contemporary Art, New York, New York 2010 The Template Files, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon 2009 Black Page, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon 2008 The Artist as Archivist, Hallie Ford Museum of Art, Willamette University, Salem, Oregon 2007 Testbeds, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon 2006 Drawing(s): 40+ artists/200works- A 25th Anniversary Exhibition, ArtGym, Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, Oregon 2005 template – grid – inset, Pavel Zoubok Gallery, New York, New York 2004 Wood, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon 2003 Retrospective, ArtGym, Marylhurst University, Marylhurst, Oregon 2003 Alloys and the Role of Water, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon 2001 Reservoir District, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon 2000 Solo show, Hallie Brown Ford Museum, Willamette University, Salem, OR 1999 Small Timber, The Templates, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon 1999 Drawing Space, George Suyama Space, Seattle, Washington 1998 Dark Cabinet, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon 1997 Small Timber, PDX Contemporary Art, Portland, Oregon 1994 Reservoir District, Jamison/Thomas Gallery, Portland, Oregon 1993 Recent Work, Jamison/Thomas Gallery, Portland, Oregon 1992 New Works, Jamison/Thomas Gallery, Portland, Oregon 1990 D.E. May, Paintings and Constructions, Jamison/Thomas Gallery, Portland, Oregon 1985 Floor Plans, The Yellow Front, Salem, Oregon 1984 The Four Berlins, The Yellow Front, Salem, Oregon 1984 Gstaad - Haunts of the Very Rich, The Yellow Front, Salem, Oregon 1982 Hide Outs, Hallie Ford Brown Gallery, Salem, Oregon 1979 The Lost Weekend, The Big Sleep Gallery, Salem, Oregon 1979 Nightlights and Paperweights, The Big Sleep Gallery, Salem, Oregon 1978 Willamette University, Salem, Oregon 1978 Expeditions, The Big Sleep Gallery, Salem, Oregon 1978 Handline, The Big Sleep Gallery, Salem, Oregon 1977 Fort Ord Logic, The Big Sleep Gallery, Salem, Oregon 1976 Willamette University, Salem, Oregon