Dave Higgins

Yeah. Dave is the coolest.

Dave Higgins makes food for your soul. I was challenged here by the categories — he could be a religious institution (though wouldn’t enjoy being thusly described). He could be nightlife. He is most certainly a creative force, an artist, but I thought putting this as arts and entertainment cheapened. So I went with food. For your undernourished soul.
David is a wonderful man and while I know him not that well in the years I’ve occasionally kept his company my affection for him has deepened. He’s warm and smart and funny. He has a pretty sister. She has horses. They’re all from the upper midwest and still sometimes sound like it when they talk.
David paints and makes things with his hands. One of his works is pictured here. His painting style, at least the style in «Tuesday», reminds me a bit of Chris Barry’s mom in the walk-​up with the bathtub in the kitchen and her studio as the living room facing 14^th Street. Sunny in the afternoon and the staircase always faintly pungent with the aroma of tomcat. She worked in oil on canvas, though also did my friend’s entire bedroom wall in intricate outer space. No bunnies on bikes or hollow-​eyed dolls peering from around the moon, but with treats similar to David’s, aspects that had you stop and look as your mind wrestled to orient subjects in an order to which it was better accustomed.
Often without success.
Over and above his work on flat surfaces, David’s hands fashion a variety of three dimensioned dolls and rolling stock, and what could be toys in a very bad dream. He’s really quite amazing.
David had a show at The Hive recently, but it’s down now. But if you’re schmart, you’ll mark your Marie Calender for Oakland Open Studios. You’ll mark the date with five stars.