Dennis W. Filling

Born 1949

Dennis W. Filling was born in New Castle, PA, where his father was studying to become a master penman in the field of engrossing, a detailed form of calligraphy used to create certificates and citations. Thus Dennis was exposed to exquisite detailing at an early age.

Before Dennis finished high school, the family moved to Washington, D.C. There, noting his interest in art, they helped him enroll in an art institute. Neither the structure of the school nor the classes themselves suited Dennis, so he left and continued drawing in what was becoming his own distinctive style.

He spent increasing amounts of time alone, combing the beaches of the Chesapeake Bay and hiking the Appalachian Trail and trails in the West, especially in Washington State. Always in his backpack was paper and his Rapidograph pen.

His abstract drawings show organic forms, some resembling microscopic views of bacteria. The work is distinguished by many thousands of tiny black ink dots, thin lines swirling across the paper filling all spaces. This aversion to blank space is known as horror vacui, a manic compulsion to fill every inch of the available paper or canvas with some kind of marks.

His larger works have bright colors filling miniscule shapes or broad paths with vibrant splashes of paint. On the reverse side of many of his drawings there are meticulously detailed notes that chronicle every hour and minute spent to complete each image, as well as philosophical essays giving insight into his thinking. Filling's images were created in the 1960s and '70s. Since the mid-1980s, he has been living in a group home. The Ames Gallery is pleased to be the first to present these amazing drawings.


[ Works by this artist range in price from $300 to $1,600 ]