Sculptor
David’s Bio:
David has been an active member of the Central Florida art community for more than 32 years. In addition to show in galleries in the United States and Europe, David participated in creating art for public places sine 1980. H was the first artist to receive a commission form the Orlando Percentage for the Arts Program when it was first established in 1984. He has created annual national sports awards for football and basketball and recently created a linebacker award for the NFL. Cumbie’s work was sent to Tokyo, Japan, where his sculptures were used to represent America in the Interflora World Cup 1989. In Germany he participated in the international sculpture exhibition called the Sculpture Mile. He has participated in four cultural exchange programs: traveling art exhibitions in Italy from 1999 – 2002; recently has been creating mosaic projects in Mexico at the Community Art Center in Coba, as well as the American Consulate in Merida; and is presently designing a mosaic for Mexico City. Since 1996, David has been in charge of creating and curating the Crealde School of Art Sculpture Garden which has over 60 outdoor sculptures that represent art work created in Central Florida.
Artist Statement:
My favorite material has always been clay. I like the plastic feeling in my hands and the speed it allows me to create. When I sculpt a form that is special to me, I make a mold and create a wax for bronze casting. Sometimes I use concrete for outdoor works and add metal elements of bronze, aluminum, and stainless steel into my composition creating a multi-media piece. I like the adventure of recreating myself with each new work, pushing the edge of what I did on the last sculpture and have always felt fortunate being a part of such a great tradition.
Commissions and Awards:
2016 Designed the Paul Newman Circle of Friends Award for The Boggy Creek Campground Organization.
2013 Presently working on a life-size statue of St. Francis of Assisi for St. Richard’s Episcopal Church
in Winter Park, Florida.
2012 David was the recipient of the Lee Lasbury Memorial Award for my entry of a Heart ,cold cast bronze 24”X24” in the 62nd Annual Symposium & Exhibition at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida.
Created a bust of Sir Francis Drake for his historical home
in Colombia, South America.
Commissioned to create the annual awards for The Golden Rule Foundation from 2006 until present.
Created a wall sculpture for the Ronald McDonald House Sponsored by Florida Automotive Association,
Created awards for the United Arts of Central Florida Fourth and Fifth Annual Arts Plus Awards, Orlando
2009 Received a purchase awars in the outdoor exhibition in Fort Pierce , Florida for my work called Totem 5.
(15 X 2 X 1.5 ft.) This work is now exhibited in the New
Court of County Clerks
2008 Commissioned to create 3 national trophies for football through the Dick Butkus Foundation: Annual awards for the NFL , the NCAA and the national High School award.
2005 Artist Grant United Arts of Central Florida
2004 Award of Distinction, Florida Biennial Exhibition, DeLand Fla Museum of Art
2001 Monument Builders, Co-creator of outreach program for at-risk children. Crealde was awarded a $20,000 program grant by the Orlando Magic Youth Foundation. Created four outdoor sculptures with children from underserved communities Change Incorporated, individual grant sponsored by the Robert Rauschenburg Foundation
1999 Purchase Award, Small Works Exhibition, Valencia Community College, Orlando, Fla.
1986 Sculpted the Pete Maravich Award trophy for the Nat’l Collegiate Athletic Basketball Ass. for the All Star game.
Interflora World Cup, Tokyo, Sculptural Props Designer, Placed 4th in the world as US representative,
1986 Grand Prize Trophy Award Central Florida Film and Video Festival
1985 Art and Artist, a Video Documentary of Central Florida Artists, Small Projects Grant Funded by United Arts Atlanta Arts Festival Winner Big Art Contest
1984 Created a Bronze Bust of L.C. Jones, Callahan Center, City of Orlando, Fla.
(First commission sponsored by the city’s Percentage
for the Arts Program)
The Holy Family, Figures of Joseph, Mary and Child Jesus, life-size, Church of the Annunciation, Altamonte Springs, FL
Ceremonial Graduation Mace, University of
Central Florida, Orlando
United Arts of Central Florida, Winner,
Artist Billboard Contest
1980 Bronze Bust of the civic leader Ruby Ball for the Ruby Ball Annex in Winter Park, Florida
Permanent Collection:
Homage to Jacques Cousteau, Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology, Milan, Italy
Exhibitions, Brief History :
2021 Dunedin Fine Art Center, 71st Annual FLAG Symposium and Exhibition: Polychromed Clay Bust of Nelson Mandela. Hindsight 2020 Orlando City Arts Exhibition: Reflecting on the events of the past year. Florida Sculpture Guild exhibit, “ReVision”, in the Casselberry Sculpture House. CityArts Gallery, FLAG members exhibit, Orlando, FL.
2020 Foosner Art Museum: Florida Invitational Exhibition. City Arts Exhibition in conjunction with Orlando Science Center: Pompeii Reimagined Exhibition. Best of Show with a Bust of Mercury. Director’s Choice VIII, Crealdé School of Art, Winter Park, FL.
2019 Ringling College of Art and Design: Group Exhibition of Florida Artists.
Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Garden: Tongue in Cheek –an exhibition of humorous art.
Showalter Hughes Community Gallery at
Crealdé School of Art: It’s Only Human,
The Figure in Art.
Naples Art Association Gallery:
Florida Artists Group in Naples.
2018 College of Central Florida, The Weber Gallery: Group Invitational Exhibition.
Ormond Beach Memorial Museum: Influence of Sound.
2017 Coral Springs Museum of Art: Invitational group show.
Lake Concord Sculpture Garden: Casselberry Sculpture Walk, Invitational Public Art Exhibition.
2016 Center for the Arts of Bonita Springs: Invitational group exhibition of Florida artists.
Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Garden: Sight Unseen: A touchable exhibition for visually impaired.
2015 Leeper Rattner Museum: Invitational
Show of Florida Artists.
2014 St. Augustine Art Association Exhibition for the FLAG Symposium: Received The Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation Award for guitar sculpture – Angel.
2013 The Lemoyne Center for the Arts: FLAG Symposium.
Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Garden: From Start to Finish, an educational exhibition on how Sculptures are made from beginning to end.
Kissimmee Florida Sculpture Experience in historic downtown Main Street: Exhibit of Totem- Closer to Nature.
2012 Orlando City Hall Terrace Gallery sponsored by The City of Orlando Public Art Program: FLAG, the Florida Artists Group, Area V Exhibition, featuring members that reside in the following counties, Orange, Seminole, Brevard, Indian river, Lake Polk and Volusia as well as state board members. Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida: FLAG’s 61st Annual Symposium and Exhibition, awarded the Lee Asbury Award.
Avalon Island Gallery downtown Orlando, Florida:
Florida Sculpture Guild Exhibition.
2012 Florida Sculpture Guild, Group Exhibition at the Avalon Island Gallery downtown Orlando,. Winter Park Historical Museum -The Way We Were:
Exhibition portraying Winter Park in the 60’s and 70’s
2011-13 Firehouse Sculpture Center Exhibition
and Grand Opening. Curator and participant.
2011 Designed the Mosaic for the American Consulate in Merida, Mexico. This was part of a cultural exchange program between Florida and the Yucatan Peninsula.
2010 Participated in the creation of the Mosaic for the Cultural Center in Coba, Mexico as part of a cultural exchange program between Florida and Mexico.
2010 Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Garden.
Figure and Form – Showcase of Florida sculptors.
2010-12 Deland Sculpture Walk. Outdoor show of monumental sculptures sponsored by the Museum of Florida Art and the City of Deland.
2009 Received a purchase award in the outdoor exhibition in Fort Pierce, Florida, for my work called Totem 5
(15X2X1.5 ft multi-media) . This work is now exhibited
in the new Court of County Clerks.
2009 Mennello Museum of American Art. Heroes and Hellions exhibition and auction.
2009 Kissimmee Sculpture Walk. Exhibition of monumental sculptures, downtown Kissimmee.
2008-09 Art Without Walls 2,. Exhibition of 33 artists displaying monumental sculpture in cities of Fort Pierce & Port St. Lucie, FL. I received a purchase award and my
Totem 5 was installed at the new City Hall.
2008 Epcot International Flower and Garden Show. Exhibited Totem 4 in the three
month outdoor exhibition at the Innovation Pavilion.
2007 Sculpture: Art in Three Dimensions, Ormond Memorial Art Museum & Gardens
2007 Heads, Hearts, Horses & Helmets, Alliance for the Arts,
Fort Meyers
2007 The Maquette: Idea & Process, Alice & William Jenkins Gallery, Crealde School of Art, Winter Park, Florida
2006Southeastern Juried Exhibition Mobile
Museum of Art, AL
2006 4th International Art Exhibition Chania,. Neoria Public Exhibition Center on the sland of Crete, Greece
2005 Florida Biennial III Deland Museum of Art, Deland, Florida
2005 Things That Whirl and Twirl, Kinetic Sculpture Exhibition, Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Garden
2005 Dynamic Relationships, The Mayor’s Gallery and Terrace at Orlando City Hall
2005 Crealde 30th Anniversary Exhibition, Present/Past Department Directors,
2004 Global Peace Film Festival and Art Exhibit, Universal Cineplex, Orlando
2004 Epcot Sculpture Garden Exhibition, Orlando, FL,
2004 Florida Biennial Exhibition, DeLand Museum of Art, Deland FL, Award Winner
2003 Artist at Work Orlando Museum of Art, 3-month Exhibit Representing the Artist Studio Tour
2002 Orlando Furioso,Gallery Postart,Milan Italy,
Part of a cultural exchange program with Orlando.
2001 Sculpture Mile, International Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit, Stienberger, Germany,
2000 The Bronze Exhibit, Studio D’Arts, Arts Foundation of Italy, Milan
1999Homage to Jacques Cousteau, Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science
a nd Technology, Milan, Italy,
1998 Under Wraps, Atlantic Center for the Arts,
New Smyrna Beach, FL,
1992 Centrifugal Force, University of Georgia, where
I was the curator as well as exhibitor.
1986 New Figures In American Art, Bath House Exhibition, Atlanta, Georgia,
1985 Expression, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Miami, FL,
1984 New Works, a one-person exhibition at
Crealdé School of Art,
1984 Juried Exhibition, Orlando Museum of Art,
1981 Insight On Site, Valencia College, Orlando, FL, outdoor sculpture show.
1980 Crealde Faculty Exhibition, Samson Gallery at Stetson University DeLand, FL,