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intelligent animal and the Darlington Installation Project (DIP) present 1 4 - 2 4: Dominic West.E X H I B I T I O N : 1 6 . 0 9 - 0 6 . 1 0 . 2 0 2 4
A R T I S T S T A T E M E N T
14-24 is an exhibition of artworks I created between the ages of fourteen and twenty-four (conveniently between the years 2014 and 2024). This includes a period of relative inactivity between 2022-23, during which I prioritised university studies. The portrait on the easel, Ube (2024), spans this period: I begun it in 2021 and did not return to finish it until earlier this year.
My approach has been primarily classical, in the style of traditional portraiture and figurative work. My admiration for the great masters of the Renaissance is grounded in a respect for the technical skills associated with traditional realism – not as an end-point, but as a means towards expanding my possibilities for artistic expression. To paraphrase Picasso, you have to learn the rules before you break them. A proper understanding of anatomy, shade and colour means that deviations from strict realism are purposive and meaningful rather than accidental. Most artworks are in oil paint, however I have also become enthusiastic about exploring other mediums such as
pastel, which I have found to invite a more colourful and improvised approach (see Reclining Nude, 2016).
The paintings in this exhibition are a heterogeneous selection – there are works from the life drawing room, portraits of friends, master copies and plein air sketches. Lucretius (2014) is an interpretation of the famous Roman philosopher, one of the first whom I read as an adolescent, and records an interest in philosophy sustained to this day. The works reflect, above all, a curiosity and willingness to experiment and explore. What a particular painting comes to mean is not something fixed from the outset, but typically evolves over the course of developing the work, as the inchoate promise of an early sketch crystallises into a concrete work.
Exhibition catalogue:
https://www.intelligentanimal.com.au/_files/ugd/7c5458_d6215901e4c0420e944c65882a6c742f.pdf
A R T I S T B I O
Dominic grew up on the Gadigal lands of the Eora Nation, where he studied art with Bernard Devaux and Yelena Dyumin. His artwork has won a number of awards for his artwork, including the Brian Jordan Award in the 2014 Religious Art Competition and the Youth category in the Royal Easter Show. He is currently pursuing a Master of Philosophy at KU Leuven, Belgium. Dominic is grateful for the support of his creative family members – his grandmother was a novelist, his mother is a poet, and his father enjoys making models of helmets from Star Wars.
5% Art sales to support:
The Blue Mountains Conservation Society
For more information please visit: https://www.bluemountains.org.au/about-us.shtml
Image detail: Reclining nude
25.cm H x 36cm W
Pastel on paper
Price: $390 (framed)
DIP is a window Gallery and accessible from the street, 24 hours.
Intelligent Animal acknowledges First Nations peoples from Gadigal country as the sovereign custodians of Country, and pay respect to Elders of past, present and future generations. We acknowledge and value the culture, customs and practices present in the diverse tribal nations across NSW.
intelligentanimal.com.au
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
30 Golden Grove St, Darlington NSW 2008, Australia, 30 Golden Grove St, Darlington NSW 2008, Australia,Sydney, Australia, Redfern
