FOREWORD to the ten years after catalogue
by Katy corner, august 2008
During his decade in New Zealand, Anthony Davies has accumulated not so much a following, as an intellectual entourage. His work also has the power to provoke visceral reactions in viewers, and it is this mind/body interplay which makes his work so compelling. Those with whom he comes into contact do not forget their encounters with this alien in their midst.
Ten Years After
Anthony Davies and Katy Corner conversations 2003-2008, by Katy Corner
Anthony Davies was born in Hampshire, England, in 1947, the eldest of five children. Rationing was still in place. Davies said "We were very aware of having one pair of shoes a year, a new pair of trousers for winter, and shorts in the summer. We had a television, but it was only turned on for a certain time - we had homework to do...we had books around, we played in the garden...I think it all starts with your parents and what they lead you to."
Extracts from A Tale of Two Cities
Essay by David Brett, March 1991
It is not appropriate, in an essay made by a friend and colleague, to advance large claims on behalf of an artist and his work. And it is possible that Davies' drawing sometimes becomes mannered or predictable, since he has produced so much work. But the kinds and varieties of work done by his drawing indicates, to this writer, that we are looking at a body of work with a certain stature.
Anthony Davies
Interviewed by Lynda Checketts, Director, Norfolk Institute of Art and Design Gallery
LC: How political is your work?
AD: I think it is political in as much as political events affect the day to day living of most people. Three of my print series are 'political' in this sense: Urban Portrait, Les Misérables, and The Wasteland. The general theme is 'post-punk', the alienation of both the young and unqualified, the old and frail, urban decay resulting in homelessness, violence and social upheaval. They covered the Miners' Strike, Greenham Common, and the various racial flash points in the early '80s, Toxteth, St Paul's and Brixton.
AD: I think it is political in as much as political events affect the day to day living of most people. Three of my print series are 'political' in this sense: Urban Portrait, Les Misérables, and The Wasteland. The general theme is 'post-punk', the alienation of both the young and unqualified, the old and frail, urban decay resulting in homelessness, violence and social upheaval. They covered the Miners' Strike, Greenham Common, and the various racial flash points in the early '80s, Toxteth, St Paul's and Brixton.
The Bite of the Print: A Graphic Reality
Written by Bryan Edmondson from a recorded interview between the artist Sue O'Brien and himself in June 1991
In a sense all art, for as long as it has been made, has dealt with the human situation, and artists have successfully communicated their thoughts and ideas through their artefacts, sometimes across thousands of years.
And yet, when Anthony Davies said he is "completely preoccupied" with it, he means just that.
His work deals consciously and directly with the disadvantaged and vulnerable members of our society, the ones why are surviving, defiantly: against the odds, or buckling under the strain, submitting to the situation they find themselves in.
And yet, when Anthony Davies said he is "completely preoccupied" with it, he means just that.
His work deals consciously and directly with the disadvantaged and vulnerable members of our society, the ones why are surviving, defiantly: against the odds, or buckling under the strain, submitting to the situation they find themselves in.
Anthony Davies in Conversation with Belinda Loftus
Exploding Myths Anthony Davies/John Kindness - Orchard Gallery, Derry. 1984
BL: Cities have almost entirely dominated your prints in recent years. Why do you think that has happened?
AD: I don't know really, because my background is very rural. I'm basically a country boy from the South of England. My mother's relatives were all landowners. I think in a strange sort of way, I'd have almost liked to become a farmer and because I didn't inherit the land, I seemed to rebel completely against that. I enjoy the countryside, but I've got no interest in doing prints of it, though it is starting to creep in a bit, with views.
But my work at present is basically about a city, and a city like Cardiff and Belfast that one can walk around. I think it's to do with the squalor as well, which is another odd thing. I mean it's something I didn't experience in my childhood, or even when I was growing up - I lived in a market town. I like the city because it's alive, I like streets, and buildings, and take-away Chinese, and building sites, and shop windows. It seems to be about life, it's about the consumer, it's about everybody. I get slightly upset with reviews you know "the life of Hell" I don't know that it's really about that.
AD: I don't know really, because my background is very rural. I'm basically a country boy from the South of England. My mother's relatives were all landowners. I think in a strange sort of way, I'd have almost liked to become a farmer and because I didn't inherit the land, I seemed to rebel completely against that. I enjoy the countryside, but I've got no interest in doing prints of it, though it is starting to creep in a bit, with views.
But my work at present is basically about a city, and a city like Cardiff and Belfast that one can walk around. I think it's to do with the squalor as well, which is another odd thing. I mean it's something I didn't experience in my childhood, or even when I was growing up - I lived in a market town. I like the city because it's alive, I like streets, and buildings, and take-away Chinese, and building sites, and shop windows. It seems to be about life, it's about the consumer, it's about everybody. I get slightly upset with reviews you know "the life of Hell" I don't know that it's really about that.
