David Welker The Maze Art Print Release

David Welker has a truly epic release happening this week.

A little over 25 years ago I had the great pleasure of working with the band Phish on their concept album titled "Rift". It was a rare chance to work intimately with these four legendary musicians when they were still getting fan mail in a shoe box. When it was proposed that there would be this main character lying diagonally in a bed I was struck with the literalness of it. So straight away I put myself headlong into it. I was the guy lying diagonally in the bed doing my best impression of Martin Sheen's post Saigon meltdown in Apocalypse Now. And fittingly I was in the midst of a breakup during the whole creative process.

This album spoke to me in so many ways over the years and I just couldn't help but feel there was some strange almost mystical connection going on. I'm sure I'm not alone though. So, now I find myself revisiting this room, this strange house, and wondering what it would look like if the Maze came to life. What would it feel like to still be inside the Maze 25 years later? The woman is in the doorway. Is she staying or is she leaving? It was the story of my life for a while. Perhaps the man finally chooses love and is released from the Maze. At this moment the man in the bed appears like a sort of Rip Van Winkle character rowing a boat diagonally across the sheets which have now turned to a rushing torrent of water. If the morning ever comes the album would seem to suggest that love prevails. So there is a lot of dynamic tension in this piece but all the while there is serenity in the face of the man and calm in the woman. And peace in the distance.

I began this drawing process 11 months ago and I feel like I lived another micro lifetime again as the main character letting the piece tell me what it wanted to become. It's as much the story of my life as it is the continuing story of the song and countless other souls who have journeyed with this band and their amazing legacy.

The Maze - Color Giclee Edition
Archival pigment on 305gsm Cold Press cotton rag paper with deckled edges
28 x 21 inches
Signed and numbered Edition of 700
$145

The Maze - Silver Screen Print Edition
Screen print with metallic inks
30 x 21 inches
Signed and numbered Edition of 250
$225

The Maze - Letterpress Edition
One color letterpress
20 x 14 inches
Signed and numbered Edition of 150
$275

The Maze - Pencil Giclee Edition
Archival pigment on 305gsm Cold Press cotton rag paper with deckled edges
22 x 16 inches
Signed and numbered Edition of 150
$275

The four editions will be available on David's new online store on Wednesday, February 21st at 12PM ET.