In the final semester of his masters program, David Hembree has installed his graduate project exhibition in the Phebe Conley Art Gallery, where it will be on display through March 17. The exhibition, “White Noise,” explores Hembree’s layered sense of reality through visual representations of history, myths and propaganda in American culture.

Hembree first developed a love for artmaking when he was a child growing up in the small, rural town of Avenal, where he spent hours watching his mother paint and draw.

“She had real talent,” Hembree said, recalling his journey as an artist. Inspired by his mother, Hembree began drawing and doodling in school, but it wasn’t until he was an undergraduate at Fresno Pacific University that he enrolled in his first art class.

After graduating in 1980, Hembree taught art classes at Fresno Pacific as an adjunct professor. He continued to make art outside of school, but his focus also turned toward growing professionally.

He worked for the YMCA for 23 years before becoming a development director in the Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management in 2015. In this role, Hembree connects with community members to share information about the programs and services offered to students and raise funds to support those programs which ensure student success. Over the past eight years, his efforts have contributed to raising $27 million for the division.

“I meet people with an affinity for the University, and connect the people with resources to those with a need," Hembree said. "I like to think I help make dreams come true.”

As a full-time staff member, Hembree had the opportunity to use the faculty/staff fee waiver to take classes at Fresno State and decided to return to the classroom in 2019 to earn his masters.

Hembree has put together the artwork for “White Noise” since his first graduate class in 2019. His paintings incorporate images of television static, the American west, political figures, trains and rockets.

“It’s the name for [television] static … it’s also maybe an overall description of European colonialism and everything that happened, ‘white noise.’ I’m also trying to contextualize my experience … and myth and propaganda as part of our culture," he said.

The Phebe Conley Art Gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

You can also connect with Hembree to support student success at dhembree@csufresno.edu or 559.278.5052.