Archer Davies : Night Live

Archer Davies Night Live 12 August – 5 September 2015

Night Live

This series of paintings began at a time when longer working hours kept me out of the studio during the day. My sister, Freda, would visit the studio on my painting nights and I began a picture of her that is not in this show (a particular image, Portrait of a Lady, that I had just seen at Queensland Art Gallery by the British artist Gilbert Soest was playing around the edges of my mind). I would paint 'wet into wet' for a few nights and the following week I would sand off the surface and start again. We never finished that work but I eventually decided on a series of paintings that would each be completed in 5-6 hours. The luxury of uninterrupted time was fantastic and the element of narrative developed naturally in the work.

Half-way through this project Freda left Brisbane for a trip to the USA which she had planned for many months. The purpose of the trip was a two week long horse ride through Arizona ending at the Grand Canyon. I continued our routine through Instagram and painted a number of pictures based on her 'posts', one of which is included in this show.

When she returned we kept painting and finished three more images. After that it seemed that the series had completed itself.

Archer Davies, 2015

1:42 am (2015) Oil on linen 31 x 42 cm $800

12:36 am (2015) Oil on canvas 31 x 42 cm $800

12:16 am (2015) Oil on canvas 31 x 42 cm $800

11:05 pm (2015) Oil on canvas 31 x 42 cm $800

11: 30 pm (2015) Oil on canvas 31 x 42 cm $800

Message from the Grand Canyon (2015) Oil on canvas 21 x 30 cm $800

10:50 pm (2015) Oil on canvas 31 x 42 cm $800

12:50 am (2015) Oil on canvas 31 x 42 cm $800

11:12 pm (2015) Oil on canvas 16 x 21 cm $400

10:20 pm (2015) Oil on canvas 31 x 42 cm $800

Curriculum Vitae Education 2010 BFA with First Class Honours Painting (major) Queensland College of Art 2009 Bachelor of Fine Art Drawing (minor) Art Theory (minor) Painting(major) Queensland College of Art Solo Exhibitions 2013 ‘Altogether Elsewhere’ The Hold Gallery, 274 Montague Rd, West End, Brisbane, QLD 2012 ‘Archer Davies, New Paintings: Themes of Containment’ , Artist’s Studio/Showroom, 354 Montague Rd, West End Brisbane, QLD 2012 ‘Archer Davies, New Works on Paper: Themes of Containment, A-CH Gallery, 75 Vulture St, West End, Brisbane, QLD. Group Exhibitions 2014 'Continue: Three Brisbane Artists', Chapter House Lane Gallery, rear 196 Flinders St, Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 2013 ‘The Hold’s 2013 Christmas Exhibition’, The Hold Gallery, 274 Montague Rd, West End, Brisbane, QLD 2012 ‘Art 4 Eva’ Ryan Renshaw Gallery, 137 Warry St, Spring Hill, Brisbane, QLD 2012 ‘Restless’ A-CH Gallery, 75 Vulture St, West End, Brisbane, QLD 2010 ‘One More Time With Feeling’, Bachelor of Fine Art with Honours Graduate Show, QCA, Brisbane, QLD Awards 2014 Finalist, The Churchie National Emerging Art Prize 2011 Highly Commended, Figurative Painting Category, Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular 2010 Griffith Award for Academic Excellence 2009 Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Societies Award in Painting Commissions 2011 Portrait of Dr. Ness Goodwin, Somerville House Collections Alex Mackay, Brisbane, QLD, Private Collection Jan Manton, Brisbane, QLD, Private Collection Reviews 2013 Art Monthly: The Emerging Issue, The QCA School, Dr Rex Butler, Issue 257, March 2013 Other Projects Co-Curator of A-CH Gallery from June 2012 until May 2013. During this time Freda Davies and I founded the space in collaboration with A-CH Architects and curated eight shows featuring work by artists Nat Koyama, Charlie Hillhouse, Haruka Sawa, Nadia Hernandez, Freda Davies, Daniel McCabe, Lucy Anderson, Caitlin Franzman and myself. A-CH Gallery continues to be a respected artist-run gallery with regular exhibitions under new curatorship.

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