David Klamen (b. 1961) received his BFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1983, and he earned his MFA two years later from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Shortly after graduating, he accepted a tenure-track position at IU Northwest, embarking on twin careers as teacher and exhibiting artist. He has been a lifelong student of hermeneutics, the science and methodology of interpretation. His works require participatory examination from the viewer, due to their hidden images and varying meanings. This theory of active interpretation was inspired by a passage in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick in which characters attempt to glean meaning from a painting obscured by smoke and varnish. Klamen’s work can found in numerous collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, and the Whitney Museum of American Art. He has also exhibited his works in solo and group shows across the world including galleries in New York, Chicago, Italy, Switzerland, and South Korea.