With the skillful combination of the acrylic paint, photography and stencil art, Paul Davies create narrative paintings whose imagery refers to the juxtaposition of the architecture and natural environment. Starting from collages, his primal inspiration was famous Japanese graphic works as The Great Wave off Kanagawa until he discovered the organic buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright and made a distinctive mixture of all. His homes, set in idyllic, leisure landscapes are uninhabited and the scenes, devoid of human presence, encourage the viewer to experience this living space generating the personal narrative. Although seem realistic, these images represent the blend of different elements from various locations.
Davies was born in 1979, and he became interested in art since the age of seven, inspired by cartoons drawing Asterix and Obelix and work of Australian artist Jeffrey Smart. He gained his education in sculpture at the College of Fine Arts UNSW and soon after discovered the graffiti and Sidney street art scene, implementing these techniques into his sculptural works. In 2014, he finished his Masters by research at the same college, with the subject of investigation the relationship between the architectural and natural elements in his work.
His further exploration of this topic naturally led to translation from stencil to sculpture. The essence of his process is based on the use of hand-cut stencils on digital photographs that contribute that the relationship between the original and its reproduction be blurred. For example, his series Blow-Up is based on photographic work. Referencing the old film of the same name, from 1966, he again depicts abandoned architecture, provoking the tension between the subject and the viewer.
Creating vivid images deftly colored with the delicate hand-cut paper stencil, Davies opposed the ideals of domestic architecture to the universal environment, exploring the relationship as the portrait of space. Drawing the inspiration from work of David Hockney, Jeffrey Smart, Peter Doig, Jon Cattapan and Rachel Whiteread, he follows their painterly, photographic and sculptural practice, adjusting the content to his artistic needs. Davies images evoke the sense of nostalgia keeping the viewer in the present but in a constant uncertainty about unknown future open to interpretation.
The artist is represented by The Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong.
Featured image: Paul Davies – Artist portrait, photo via snakesandladders.tv
All images courtesy of the Cat Street Gallery
Year | Exhibition title | Gallery/Museum | Solo/Group |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | Flattening Sublime | Olsen Irwin Gallery, Sydney | Solo |
2013 | Flattening Sublime | Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris | Solo |
2013 | Sydney Contemporary | Olsen Irwin Gallery | Group |
2013 | Albany Art Prize Finalist | Unknown | Group |
2013 | Signal 8: Salon Show | The Cat Street Gallery | Group |
2013 | Natural Selection | The Fine Art Society Contemporary | Group |
2013 | Sovereign Art Foundation Prize | Hong Kong | Group |
2013 | Fleurieu Art Prize Finalist | Unknown | Group |
2013 | Yering Station Art Prize Finalist | Unknown | Group |
2013 | Arnold Bloch Leibler Art Prize Finalist | Unknown | Group |
2013 | Reflections - The M Collection Exhibition | Dianne Tanzer Gallery | Group |
2012 | Signal 8: Salon Show | The Cat Street Gallery | Group |
2012 | Pat Corrigan: Art Collector | Maitland Regional Art Gallery | Group |
2012 | Paul Davies | Tim Olsen Gallery, Sydney | Solo |
2012 | Wild Australian Yen Reis | Gallery Singapore | Group |
2012 | Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize finalist | Sydney | Group |
2012 | Melbourne International Art Fair | Tim Olsen Gallery | Group |
2012 | Pulse Art Fair Miami | Fine Art Society Contemporary | Group |
2012 | Hampton’s Art Fair | Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery | Group |
2011 | Paul Davies | The Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong | Solo |
2011 | Portraits | Gold Coast City Regional Art Gallery | Solo |
2011 | Paul Davies | Tim Olsen Gallery at Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne | Solo |
2011 | Signal 8: Salon Show | The Cat Street Gallery | Group |
2011 | NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize finalist | Sydney | Group |
2011 | Wattle | Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong | Group |
2011 | Self Portraits | China Heights Gallery, Sydney | Group |
2011 | Hampton’s Art Fair | Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery | Group |
2011 | Art London | Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery | Group |
2011 | Hong Kong International Art Fair | The Cat Street Gallery | Group |
2011 | Toronto International Art Fair | Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery | Group |
2011 | Pat Corrigan: Art Collector | Maitland Regional Art Gallery | Group |
2010 | Hampton’s Art Fair | Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery | Group |
2010 | Art Chicago | Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery | Group |
2010 | Miscellanea | Tim Olsen Gallery | Group |
2010 | Hong Kong International Art Fair | The Cat Street Gallery | Group |
2010 | Evocatecture | Heather James Fine Art Gallery | Group |
2010 | Paul Davies | Tim Olsen Gallery, Sydney | Solo |
2010 | Paul Davies | Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery, London | Solo |
2010 | Paul Davies | Lawrence Asher Gallery, Los Angeles, USA | Solo |
2010 | King’s School Art Prize finalist | Unknown | Group |
2010 | Dragon Garden | The Cat Street Gallery | Group |
2010 | Melbourne international Art Fair | Tim Olsen Gallery | Group |
2010 | London Art Fair | Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery | Group |
2010 | LA Art Show | Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery | Group |
2010 | San Francisco Art Fair | Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery | Group |
2010 | Structural Through-Line (Coherence) | Lawrence Asher Gallery, Los Angeles | Group |
2010 | A Summer Survey | Tim Olsen Gallery | Group |
2009 | No Comply | Red Bull Gallery, Sydney | Group |
2009 | London Art Fair | Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery! | Group |
2009 | Toronto Art Fair | Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery! | Group |
2009 | Paul Davies | Cat Street Gallery, Hong Kong | Solo |
2009 | Paul Davies | Tim Olsen Gallery, Sydney | Solo |
2009 | Finalist - Royal Bank of Scotland Australian emerging Artist Award | Unknown | Group |
2009 | Hong Kong Art Fair | The Cat Street Gallery | Group |
2009 | Affordable Art Fair Paris | Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery | Group |
2009 | Hampton’s Art Fair | Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery | Group |
2008 | Melbourne International Art Fair | Tim Olsen Gallery | Group |
2008 | Finalist - ABN-AMRO Emerging Artist Award | Unknown | Group |
2008 | Paul Davies | Tim Olsen Gallery, Sydney | Solo |
2008 | 2 X 2 | Tim Olsen Gallery | Group |
2008 | University of Sydney PALM Awards | Guest Judge for Art Prize | Group |
2007 | Paul Davies | Tim Olsen Gallery, Sydney | Solo |
2007 | Across the Board | Cancer Council, Wallspace Gallery | Group |
2007 | 100th Heights | China Heights, Sydney | Group |
2006 | Melbourne International Art Fair | Tim Olsen Gallery | Group |
2006 | Group Show | Tim Olsen Gallery | Group |
2006 | Sydney Art Fair | Tim Olsen Gallery | Group |
2006 | Paul Davies | Tim Olsen Gallery Sydney | Solo |
2005 | Department | blank space, Sydney | Group |
2005 | Paul Davies | blank_space Gallery, Sydney | Solo |
2005 | Paul Davies | blank_space Gallery, Sydney | Solo |
2005 | Sydney Art Fair | Soho Galleries, Sydney | Group |
2005 | Group show | Touch Galleries, Sydney | Group |
2004 | Paul Davies | 2 Step Gallery, Sydney | Solo |
2004 | Paul Davies | First Draft Gallery, Sydney | Solo |
2004 | Vans off the wall | George Street, Sydney | Group |
2004 | Eloquence (a group thing) | blank space, Sydney | Group |
2003 | Paul Davies | Space3 Gallery, Sydney | Solo |
2003 | Graffiti and Stencils | Knot Gallery, Sydney | Group |
2003 | 3D’s | Space3, Sydney | Group |
2003 | Stencil exhibition | Surry Hills Labour Club, Sydney | Group |
2002 | Appliance | UNSW Solar Research Centre, Sydney | Group |
2002 | Group Show | PCL Gallery, Sydney | Group |
2001 | Paul Davies | DK Restaurant, London | Solo |
2001 | Photography Prize winner | TNT Magazine, London | Group |
2000 | Seven Senses, Mercedes Fashion Week | Kudos Gallery, Sydney | Group |
2000 | Walking the Streets | Sydney | Group |
2000 | Dialogue | COFA Graduation show, Sydney | Group |
2000 | Con-struct | College of Fine Arts, Sydney | Group |
1999 | Yerg | UNSW College of Fine Arts, Sydney | Group |