Novado Gallery is proud to announce “The Consistency of Inconsistency,” a solo exhibition of works by Steve Datz, on view from March 6 through May 2, 2026. 

The opening reception with the artist will take place on Friday, March 6, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM.

This event is part of JC Fridays, a free city-wide visual & performing arts festival. JC Fridays is a program of Art House Productions. www.jcfridays.com.

In this compelling body of work, Datz explores the fluid territory between memory and imagination, challenging the notion of objective perception. Across paintings, relief constructions, and hybrid assemblages, Datz interrogates the materiality of paint and object, transforming surfaces into sites of collision and harmony. For the artist, abstraction becomes a field of heightened awareness, an arena where intention and spontaneity coexist.

"Memory and imagination are constructs of the mind. Memory is born out of experience; imagination builds on it. Our perception is not objective. This gives each of us space to be unique regardless of originality,"  says Steve Datz: “When I am working, there is no past or future, only now. I am interested in creating an object of presence. The viewer completes the work by staying present with it”.

Datz’s process begins with focused intention: to create an object that exists fully in the present moment. He describes his studio practice not as meditation, but as “serious play”, a sensory heightened state in which instinct and discipline converge. Completion is a conscious act, one that distinguishes the deliberate artist from unfiltered expression.

For the viewer, presence is equally essential. The works in “The Consistency of Inconsistency” resist easy categorization. Ambiguity is not an obstacle but an invitation. Rather than defining or judging prematurely, Datz asks us to remain with the work, allowing it to unfold as a nonverbal, experiential encounter.

For Novado Gallery, this exhibition aligns with its commitment to presenting artists whose work stimulates meaningful dialogue and intimate engagement. “The Consistency of Inconsistency” positions the viewer not as a passive observer, but as an active participant in the experience of the work.

Artist Statement:

I am drawn to materials that already carry a history. Found objects, discarded surfaces, everyday things not bought for their beauty or expense — these are my palette. What interests me is not the material itself, but what it can become in service of an idea. How does this thing, with all its prior life, transform the message? How does it shape what the eye receives?

This is how I understand the difference between art and craft. Craft is the mastery of technique — learning to do something with skill and precision. Art is a different pursuit. It is the willingness to question the very standards by which we judge aesthetics and meaning, using whatever means are necessary to get there.

Like Rauschenberg, I believe that the gap between art and everyday life is a place worth working in. My practice moves across painting, sculpture, and whatever form a given idea demands. The materials change. The themes drive everything. And while my work may appear inconsistent across phases, that restlessness is itself the constant — a refusal to settle for the predictable