Now based mostly in London, David Surman was raised in a small coastal village in southwest England. The bucolic surroundings and entry to animals left an indelible influence on the artist, who plumbs his reminiscence and attracts on an unlimited array of artwork historic references in his work.
Surman’s most up-to-date physique of labor is on view in his solo exhibition at Rebecca Hassock Artwork Gallery. Compared to earlier collections, After the Flood is much less summary however equally gestural, as sweeping brushstrokes delineate a bull’s sinewed musculature or the curled mane of a bashful horse.
within the methods we undertaking our experiences and ideologies onto the pure world, Surman renders recognizable topics in a fashion that displays our tendency to ascribe human emotion and feeling to different species. “I like painting animals because they short-circuit people’s interpretive routines and get them looking at paint without the self-consciousness they might bring to abstract painting,” he stated in a 2023 interview, including:
The creatures that I paint are caught up in our human downside, which is the separation from the world attributable to consciousness. The way in which through which my animals have a look at the viewer intentionally units up a sense of depth, maybe troubled engagement, a type of accusation or affection. However in each case, the creature possesses a hint or residue of aware company.
In “Old Stew Head,” for instance, viewers encounter a deeply troubled fox greedy a limp fish in its jaws. The canine in “Bathers At K’gari” is equally anxious because it carries a younger pup below a brilliant blue sky.
After the Flood continues in London by means of March 29. Discover extra from the artist on his web site and Instagram.
