Hotspur Studios
  • Home
  • List of Works
  • Chronology
  • Installations
  • Essays

A TALE OF TWO CITIES (1989)

FOREWORD
By Declan MacGonagle

This exhibition is made up of a series of works by Anthony Davies which come directly out of a period he spent living and working in Derry.

Never one to remain the distanced observer, the underlying strength of Davies' work comes from his sometimes painful participation in life.  This was true of his period in Derry where he was in constant contact with people in the city.  Yet he does not romanticise.  No one should look to his work for nostalgia or safe havens in this or any of his earlier works.  These prints and paintings which are underpinned by a disciplined virtuosity have their origins in his longer presence in Northern Ireland, firstly as a lecturer in the College of art and latterly, singularly as an artist, while still regularly teaching in colleges through England and Wales.

As an artist, in the context of Northern Ireland, Davies has concentrated his focus on the questions of ordinary and extraordinary existence which permeates life here.  In these prints and large scale watercolours, Davies, unlike far too many artists, is not content to bask in the glory of his craftsmanship, he has pursued his language and himself, at some cost, beyond the limits of others.  His commitment and single mindedness has to be applauded.
A NOTE FROM ROY WALLIS
These are bold, delineated, heavily foregrounded works, watercolour used as a weapon of social commentary and critique, rather than as a tasteful testament to landscape or complexion.  The figures force themselves forward, graphically insisting that we take notice.

Davies has selected his subject matter from the context of the working class life, portraying its pains and modest satisfactions.  The works are local in reference, but universal in association.  Davies does not offer a representative view of these locations.  Rather, he has been drawn to the struggle, the elusive and transient pleasures of those who, in the end will never be more than the lower orders.  This series offers, unsentimentally and without condescension, an insight into their lives and a point of emotional contact with their tribulations.  The vibrancy of colour, the solidity of the figures, the occasional representation of joy, all signify a sense of hope, optimism that among the ashes of disorder and damaged lives, meaning and human worth may yet endure.

Series One
73x115cm, Woodcuts Canadian Plywood

DEDICATED TO DECLAN MCGONAGLE
Picture
Say Hello Wave Goodbye
Picture
Birth of a Wee Sprog
Picture
The Sentinel - Derry City
Picture
Legitimate Target
Picture
Youth: Birth
Picture
Youth: Arrest
Picture
Youth: Interrogation
Picture
Youth: Martyrdom

Series Two
Watercolours

DEDICATED TO JACKIE WILDE & SEAMUS BOYCE
Picture
Drunk with Dog
Picture
Old Couple
Picture
Mother and Child
Picture
Mother and Mongol Son
Picture
Young Hijackers
Picture
Marching Orangemen
Picture
The Salon
Picture
Night Out - Chinese Restaurant
Picture
Priest and Body
Picture
Keep Fit Classes
Picture
You Are Now Entering Free Derry
Picture
The 20th Anniversary Media Spotlight
<-- Comedy of Life
List of Works
the games that people play -->
Anthony Davies, RE
72 Guyton Street
Wanganui

​Phone: 022 045 2705
Picture
Site proudly designed, developed and hosted by Wright Way Design
©2019 All Rights Reserved
  • Home
  • List of Works
  • Chronology
  • Installations
  • Essays