Stephen Anthony Davids

Lives and works in London, UK

Artist statement

Stephen Anthony Davids’ work unties two elements: on the one hand, his paintings are immediate, personal expressions, the result of a compulsion to make work in the moment. On the other, they are also cumulative, amounting to an interrelated body of work that is almost like an archive: an accretion of artistic, cultural and historical material manifest in paintings on wood, canvas, paper and found objects. Solitary figures are his primary subject, and his focus is on the face and especially the eyes as a vehicle for communication and expression. However, these works are not simple portraiture; they tell a story, and a complex one at that, with meaning coded through multiple layers. In the first instance, the figure itself may be a reference to, or representation of, a specific individual, real or imagined. At the same time, it representation of a facet of himself- his feelings in the moment of painting, his personal interests and history: all his figures wear his gold tooth. Alongside depicting individual characters and experiences, these figurative works also tell collective stories. References to music, film and poetry are woven in by means of the figures’ clothing, in the titles, on occasion through the inclusion of text within the image. G-funk, jazz, the Harlem Renaissance, Blaxploitation films, Maya Angelou’s poetry are all points of reference and inspiration. Black culture and history in London and New York, and working class culture and history in East London are...

Artwork