John Devane: Paintings
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John Devane is a figurative artist whose paintings are autobiographical in the sense that they largely depict friends and family in various guises. The studio and the domestic environment provide the initial impetus for the pictures which hint at narrative content although no definitive or explicit meaning is intended. Whilst each of the pictures has its own dynamic, the entire body of work is really part of an ongoing project. Portraits feature consistently throughout his practice and painting the human form has been a life-long preoccupation. Most of the people depicted in the paintings have been painted many times. Many of the images have their origin in a photographic source, but this has usually been tempered by primary investigation. |
The tension between the reality of a primary experience and the use of mediated imagery is very much at the heart of this endeavor. Many of the works in this exhibition are connected in terms of theme and intention. Although the images are static in the obvious sense, the artist attempts to explore the more fleeting aspects of reality. Some of the subjects are immersed in their own worlds others with conversation and dialogue.
The production cycle of the paintings is lengthy and involves a sort of collage process where images are explored, developed and sometimes erased as serendipitous connections are made. Through a form of obsessive emersion in the subject matter a sense of narrative starts to take shape. His work is referenced in Dictionary of British Art Volume V1 20th century Painters & Sculptors. He has exhibited in the UK and abroad most notably as part of the BP Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery, and at Christies St. James as a finalist in the Garrick Milne Prize. As well as having works in a number of private collections, he has works in a number of public collections including: The Unilever Collection, British Council, Ocean Transport & Trade PLC, and Coventry University. |
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Exhibition review by Nick Smale
