Bart Dluhy
Artist Bio
Born in Pennsylvania in 1968 and currently living and working in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, Bart brings a diverse academic background to his artistic practice, holding two Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees, a Master of Education, and a Master of Fine Arts. He is represented by Viridian Gallery in the Chelsea district of New York City. Over the past two decades, his work has been featured in three solo exhibitions and numerous juried and invitational shows across the United States.
Bart’s current practice centers on abstraction, employing a wide range of materials including acrylic, resin, glue, pastel, and wood. His process is defined by both additive and subtractive methods, utilizing traditional tools alongside non-traditional implements such as drills, sanders, and other industrial devices. This physically engaged approach produces a distinctly layered aesthetic, one that reveals traces of its own making and invites viewers to sense the energy, labor, and immediacy embedded within each work.
The conceptual foundation of Bart’s practice emerges from an ongoing inquiry into the dynamic interplay between control and chance. Personal experiences have prompted a sustained reflection on the limits of agency, leading him to question the extent to which individuals can truly direct outcomes. While human intention initiates action, the unfolding of events often exceeds one’s grasp, shaped by circumstance and unpredictability. Bart’s work navigates this tension, examining both the impulse to assert control and the generative possibilities that arise when control is relinquished. His compositions become sites of negotiation—between intention and accident, structure and spontaneity—ultimately embracing the creative potential inherent in uncertainty.
Artist Statement
Bart Dluhy (b. 1968, Pennsylvania) is an abstract painter known for his fusion of woodworking and painting in which he uses layers to work into and build upon wood surfaces. Using acrylic paint as a base, he adds other media and materials to alter the physical characteristics of the paint to achieve unexpected results. Bart’s method and materials allow him to explore and critique the dichotomy of human agency vs. subordination to chance.
What sets Bart’s work apart from other abstract painters are his materials and processes. He combines acrylic paint with glue, resin, chalk pastel, tape, and/or fibers on wood panels to withstand or surrender to his additive and subtractive techniques. Bart employs routers, sanders, grinders, drills, chisels, and other industrial implements to manipulate the surfaces of the multiple layers found in his paintings, exposing aspects of previous layers as if conducting an archeological expedition.
Some of the motifs found in Bart’s works include circles, lines, arcs, disparate color combinations, and exposing of the raw wood underneath. Contrast is evident in his paintings, often juxtaposing dark and light, organic and geometric shapes, delicacy and harshness, or clarity and sublime among other strategies. The materials, techniques, and concepts Bart uses emphasize the serendipitous nature of the results which capture the balance between planning and abandon.
Artist CV
Abstract and figurative painter, oil, acrylic, and mixed media
Born, 1968, Dunmore, PA, USA
Resides and Works- Shenandoah Valley, VA
Education:
2018, MFA, Jacksonville University
2015, M Ed., Texas Tech University
2010, BFA- Art Education, University of North Texas
2010, BFA- Drawing and Painting, University of North Texas
Solo Exhibitions:
2025, Agency Surrendered, Stonebranch Center for the Arts, Front Royal, VA
2018, Second Hand, The Cove Gallery, McKinney, TX
2005, Still Life, VCU Heath System Hospital, Richmond, VA
Selected Group Exhibitions:
2026, January Exhibit. Crossroads Gallery, Richmond, VA
2025, Elemental, Community Show, VECCA Gallery, Woodstock, VA
2025, Hill Center Galleries, 2026 Regional Juried Exhibition
2025, Monochrome, The Art League Gallery- Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA
2025, Pflag, VECCA Gallery, Woodstock, VA
2021, Shades of Green, Coppell Cultural Arts Center, Coppell, TX
2020, Invitational Exhibition, Viridian Gallery, NY, NY
2017, Two Person Show, Works in Progress, Alexander Breast Gallery, Jacksonville, FL
2010, Relief, 500X Gallery, Dallas, TX
2010, Pre- Arranged, Cora Stafford Gallery, Denton, TX
2007, Stop & Go, The Arts Gallery, Plano, TX
2005, All Media Show, Artworks Inc., Richmond, VA
2005, Open Theme, Fraser Gallery, Washington, D.C.
2005, Two Person Show, Uptown Gallery, Richmond, VA
2003, Open Theme, The Art League Gallery- Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA
Awards:
2025, 1st Place- Abstract, Perspective, Upward Gallery, Online
2025, Honorable Mention- Abstract, Perspective, Upward Gallery, Online
2007, Honorable Mention, The Arts Gallery, Plano, TX
2005, Honorable Mention, Artworks Inc., Richmond, VA
Public Collections:
2005, A Roma, VCU Health System Hospital- Clock Tower
Publications:
2025, Artstonish Magazine- 60th Issue
2025, Upward Magazine, 2025 Summer Quarterly Issue, Interview
2023-2024, Content Creator and Editor, ArtIgnition- online art education website
Teaching Positions:
2026, Course Designer and Instructor, Laurel Ridge Community College, VA
2012-2021, Course Designer and Instructor, Imagine International Academy of North Texas
Gallery Representation:
2026, Foundry Gallery, Washington, D.C. (Shaw Neighborhood)
2026, Viridian Gallery, NY, NY (Chelsea)
2018-2019, The Cove Gallery, McKinney, TX
2006-2012, U-Gallery, Online
2004-2006, Uptown Gallery, Richmond, VA
2001- Present, Bart Fine Art- www.bartdluhy.com, Online