|
David Somerville
About the artist...
David Somerville was born in the 1962 and studied Fine Art at Chelsea
School of Art. Here he came in contact with European and American
artists such as Jean Michel Basquiat, Picasso and Willem de Kooning
who exerted a strong influence. Though Somerville started as one of
the first non-figurative black painters in Britain, he has turned
to figuration since the mid-nineties. His previous work as an abstract
painter fine-tuned his skills as a colourist which brings luminosity
and alluring brilliance into his figurative work.
Somerville's profound interest in African masks is very evident
in his paintings and many of his figures carry or wear such masks.
It exposes his link with classical African traditions. He sees the
masks as being a means of protection for the vulnerable human soul
in an anonymous and potentially hostile urban environment
"If the people in my paintings are white, they are probably
black underneath and vice versa. They are all wearing masks, hiding
something."
Somerville has exhibited widely in this country and in Europe.
Alongside painting, he also works with film and sculpture and has
been the subject of a Video Portrait by Karen Alexander, A Visual
Profile of the Artist and his Work, shown at the Tate Gallery.
Somerville lives and works in London.
Biography
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS |
| 2003 |
Broadbent, London |
| 2002 |
Vertigo Gallery, Hoxton, London |
| 1999 |
Recent Works, Simon Capstick-Dale Fine Art |
| 1996 |
New Paintings, Harriet Green Gallery |
| 1993 |
Fragmented Cities and Rural Landscapes, British Council,
Barcelona |
| 1989 |
Beint and Beint Gallery, London |
| 1988 |
Roland Cowan Contemporary Art |
| |
Time Out Exhibition, London |
| |
Freuds Gallery |
| 1987 |
Submarine Gallery, London |
| |
| GROUP EXHIBITIONS |
| 2003 |
Living With Art: Drawings and Paintings from the Evans
Collection, Rivvington Gallery |
| |
30 x 30, Vertigo Gallery, London |
| 2002 |
Nothing More Than the Promise of Happiness, Sylvia
Heisel, New York |
| 2002 |
Reactions, Exit Art of Broadway, New York |
| |
Football World Cup 2002 Exhibition, Galerie Enrica
Navarra, Monaco; touring to Korea and Japan |
| 2001 |
Summer Show, Robert Sandleson, London |
| 2000 |
Summer Contemporary, Blains Fine Art, London |
| 1999 |
Summer Show, Simon Capstick-Dale Fine Art Ltd |
| |
Kiss Exhibition, Gallery, K |
| 1998 |
Group Show, Simon Capstick-Dale Fine Art Ltd |
| 1997 |
Purely Painting, Harriet Green Gallery |
| 1996 |
Fitzrovia Open Exhibition, London |
| 1995 |
Small Picture Show, Blue Gallery, London |
| 1995 |
Royal Over0Seas League: Annual Open Exhibition, London |
| 1995 |
4 Elements, Blue Gallery, London |
| 1994 |
Mystery Tour, City Art Gallery, Leicester |
| |
The Dub Factor, Arts Council funded touring
exhibition organised by Eddie Chambers; Angel Row; Bristol Art
Gallery; Laing Art Gallery; Newcastle; Ipswich; Bracknell; Nottingham |
| 1986 |
Against All Odds, Brixton Art Gallery, London |
| 1985 |
Eclipse in Our Time, Africa Centre, London; James
Birch Gallery |
|
|
