Take a quick tour through my show “Flight Patterns” at Jonathan Cooper Gallery in London. I keep watching this video and feeling sentimental since I wasn’t able to be there in person for the show. But now we can all wander through the gallery accompanied by touching music.

David Grossmann solo exhibition, London, UK, 2022

During the time that I worked on these paintings I went into a learning spree about birds. I dug through my field guide to identify the birds around me, I read scientific studies, listened to audiobooks, and watched documentaries. The more I learned, the more amazed I became. A turning point for me was when I read a report stating that there are one third fewer birds in the U.S and Canada now than there were fifty years ago. One third!

From the beginning, hope was the main idea for this series of paintings, but now birds as symbols of hope also became potent symbols of loss for me. I decided that this show needed to have a practical positive impact, however small, so the gallery and I donated a portion of the sales from this exhibit to The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

In an introductory note to the show’s catalogue, RSPB officer Mike Harris wrote that the conservancy group uses its “expertise in birds and nature to provide evidence-based solutions to the nature and climate emergency, helping people live well in harmony with nature. We work with our partners to keep common species common, protect and restore special places and inspire everyone to act for nature.”