DAVID STOREY STEPPING STONES
Tabby was three when her father left for the war, and her memories of him are fractured. “I can remember someone standing in a room and canvas bags pilling up, which must have been his equipment to go to Korea, but I can’t see his face,” she says…
My paintings are an exploration of memory and offer ‘glimpsed’ or halfremembered figures standing silently on the edge of living memory, rescued from a personal archive of the forgotten. I’m drawn to historical images that are slightly out of my time, or maybe from my time but when I was young – that way my response can be more detached. Having selected a composition that resonates I embark on a quest to unlock the essence in a way that is somehow extra-visual. This journey of development and discovery can take anything from 5 days to 5 years until a kind of alchemy takes place and things seem to harmonise of their own accord in a way that can be very rewarding. I like to paint in an expressionistic way using rags and sponges because the physical marks and textures are a fundamental element of what I’m trying to achieve. The challenge for me though is to retain an economy of execution – an effortless effort.
After studying at Hornsey College of Art and Middlesex University in London I worked as a record sleeve artist – but for the last 25 years I’ve focused entirely on painting, developing a way of working that continues to evolve.
‘Stepping Stones’ is my latest solo exhibition at the lovely Stratford Gallery and showcases the new paintings I’ve created over the last 12 months. I’m grateful to Emma and Howard for making the trip to my Brighton studio, on two occasions, in order to input on the progress of the paintings, and for their support and encouragement throughout the process.
--David Storey
David Storey’s practice both revolves around and inherently relies upon the act of remembering. Drawing from found imagery, personal archives and mental recollections, his figures—often outside, always anonymous—scratch at the innate memories of the viewer themselves, long-undisturbed like a postcard tucked in between the pages of a familiar book. Their clothes, while nondescript, suggest a specific historical timeframe, not alienating but not quite within reach either. Some figures appear unaware of their viewer, caught up in a conversation, a congregation or phone call. Others stare out to the viewer with unusual assertiveness.
Their faces obscured, these sitters present an off-kilter energy undefinable in its source: tactile memories of holding old photographs from family parties mingle with the fuzzier, yet infinitely more immediate childhood memories of one’s parent waiting for them further along the path to create a strange arena of the recorded and encountered, seen and felt. Storey’s canvas is one where memory does not merely reside but emerges, dissolves, and reconstitutes—an ever-unfolding mirror of its own recollection.
--Howard Clegg, Director
David Storey (b. 1954) is a renowned British figurative painter, and a Threadneedle Prize finalist. David obtained his fine art training initially at Hornsey College of Art and, after that, at Middlesex University during the 1970s.
After completing his artistic training, he worked as a record sleeve artist firstly at Rocket Records and then at Chrysalis, where as Art Director he was responsible for a number of high profile designs for both the main label and their two subsidiary labels, 2 Tone and Go! Discs. Several of his major designs were made for The Housemartins, Paul Heaton, The Selecter and The Specials.
During this time, David also spent time lecturing at Central St. Martins in London. However, for the last 25 years he has focused his attention entirely on painting and developing his distinctive, continually-evolving style. Today, he lives and works in Brighton.
Walking in a French Garden
Oil and mixed media on canvas
76 x 60 cm (30 x 24 inch)
Frame size 79 x 63 cm
May Dancers
Oil and mixed media on canvas
76 x 102 cm (30 x 40 inch)
Frame size 79 x 105 cm
Oil and mixed media on canvas
76 x 60 cm (30 x 24 inch)
Frame size 79 x 63 cm
Stepping Stones
Oil and mixed media on canvas
60 x 76 cm (24 x 30 inch)
Frame size 63 x 79 cm
Twins
Oil and mixed media on canvas
50 x 40 cm (20 x 16 inch)
Frame size 53 x 43 cm
Out of Step
Oil and mixed media on canvas
60 x 76 cm (24 x 30 inch)
Frame size 63 x 79 cm
The Absence of Doubt
Oil and mixed media on canvas
60 x 76 cm (24 x 30 inch)
Frame size 63 x 79 cm
The Prophet (Diptych)
Oil and mixed media on canvas
2 canvasses each measuring 70 x 50 cm (28 x 20 inches)
Each frame size 73 x 53 cm
Time Flies
Oil and mixed media on canvas
100 x 120 cm (39 x 47 inches)
Frame size 103 x 123 cm
Early September
Oil and mixed media on canvas
90 x 70 cm (35 x 28 inch)
Frame size 93 x 73 cm
First to Leave (III)
Oil and mixed media on canvas
80 x 100 cm (31 x 39 inches)
Frame size 83 x 103 cm
Remembrance
Oil and mixed media on canvas
100 x 80 cm (39 x 31 inches)
Frame size 103 x 83 cm
Storm at Sea
Oil and mixed media on canvas
76 x 60 cm (30 x 24 inch)
Frame size 79 x 63 cm
The Anxious Wait
Oil and mixed media on canvas
51 x 61 cm (20 x 24 inches)
Frame size 54 x 64 cm
Shallow Water
Oil and mixed media on canvas
90 x 70 cm (35 x 28 inches)
Frame size 93 x 73 cm
Another Wave
Oil and mixed media on canvas
100 x 120 cm (40 x 48 inch)
Frame size 103 x 123 cm
Before Tomorrow
Oil and mixed media on canvas
70 x 90 cm (28 x 35 inch)
Frame size 73 x 93 cm
Alone
Egg tempera and oil on wood 13 x 10 cm (5 x 4 inch)
Frame size 43 x 33 cm
One Bright Day
Egg tempera and oil on wood
10 x 13 cm (4 x 5 inch)
Frame size 43 x 33 cm
Ancient Heart
Egg tempera and oil on wood
10 x 13 cm (4 x 5 inch)
Frame size 43 x 33 cm
The Prophet (study)
Oil on panel
2 panels, each 13 x 10 cm (5 x 4 inch)
Frame size 43 x 33 cm
The Pianist
Egg tempera and oil on panel
10 x 13 cm (4 x 5 inches)
Frame size 43 x 33 cm
Full Moon Swim
Egg tempera and oil on wood
10 x 13 cm, (4 x 5 inch)
Frame size 43 x 33 cm
Egg tempera and oil on wood
10 x 13 cm (4 x 5 inch)
Frame size 43 x 33 cm
Wading In
Egg tempera and oil on wood
10 x 13 cm (4 x 5 inch)
Frame size 43 x 33 cm
Now and Then (Study)
Ink, watercolour and oil on paper
29 x 21 cm (11 x 8 inches)
Frame size 53 x 43 cm
Oil and mixed media on paper
36.5 x 26.5 cm (14 x 10 inches)
Frame size 53 x 43 cm
The True Believers
Egg tempera and oil on panel
10 x 13 cm (4 x 5 inches)
Frame size 43 x 33 cm
Walking In A French Garden
£3,500
May Dancers
£4,200
Sisters
£3,500
Stepping Stones
£3,500
Twins
£2,700
Out of Step
£3,500
The Absence of Doubt
£3,500
The Prophet
£4,200
Time Flies
£4,800
Early September
£4,000
First To Leave (III)
£4,000
Remembrance
£4,200
Storm At Sea
£3,500
The Anxious Wait
£3,200
Shallow Water
£4,000
Another Wave
£4,600
Before Tomorrow
£4,000
Alone
£850
One Bright Day
£850
Ancient Heart
£850
The Prophet (study)
£1200
The Pianist
£850
Full Moon Swim
£850
James Bond
£850
Wading In
£850
Now and Then (Study)
£900
The Sleepwalker
£900
The True Believers
£850
