DAVID SPILLER
PORTLAND GALLE RY
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DAVID SPILLER 26 M A Y – 19 J U N E 2020
PORTLAND GALLE RY 3 BENNET STREET
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LONDON SW1A 1RP
T E L E P H O N E 020 7493 1888
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EMAIL art@portlandgallery.com
www.portlandgallery.com Cover: With You 2008 Acrylic and pencil on canvas
48 x 72 ins. Catalogue no.37
INTRODUCTION “I really want to make paintings that put some magic on the wall… My wish is that these paintings bring you memories and that they might stir something inside you. That reflect part of one persons passing time. I hope they speak for themselves and that they speak to you… That the journey was all worthwhile…” The works released for Portland Gallery’s VR exhibition are from the Spiller studio archives and were executed between 1994 and 2016. The selected works track David’s development over the three decades and follow numerous different ideas he held close to him; lyrics and text, cartoons and images, all incorporated as part of his artistic arsenal. Each includes subject matter that permeates David’s works: clocks that mark passing time; landscapes offering a window to the beautiful world outside; crazy cartoon characters and the important mantra not forget to have some have ‘FUN…!’ - inscribed with messages and sentiments that evoke a response and hold true through the decades. Re-reading these works, it is interesting how relevant and pertinent his messages resonate for different times in our lives. During the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic it is moving to discover the poignant zeitgeist notes and how they relate to our feelings today. His scribbled and stenciled inscriptions ‘We’ll meet again’ and ‘I miss you,’ echo and capture the essence our current state, hope and sadness. “Don’t be afraid to give your heart… Don’t be afraid to walk in the dark… Don’t be afraid to say; Yes… Don’t be afraid to say; No… Don’t forget to have fun… Don’t forget to say; I love you.” Xavier Spiller Cameron
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EARLY CARTOON WORKS David often painted his ‘ideal’ family or family groups as portraits, ‘I miss you all so much’ shows an oddball cast of punky outsiders, a little wild and kooky. The protagonists are defaced and embellished with bloodshot eyes, painted toenails and Hildea with her Cruella De Vil hairstyle is wearing a Jean Paul Gaultier (Madonna) bra, “just for fun.” Hand drawn characters of Magilla the Gorilla, Scrappy Doo and Hong Kong Phooey are hidden amongst the main group inviting you to look closer at the surface of the canvas and not just at the central image. Personal reference and reverence proliferate David’s art, once explaining that the abstract triangles represent mathematical purity, paying homage to Pythagoras and Da Vinci and the notion of ‘divine proportions’. He also liked to pay subtle respect to his heroes, friends and work colleagues, Brian Fielding’s triangles and Alan Green’s hard edge abstract paintings, along with giants like, Picasso, Rembrandt and Van Gogh. This painting is also the only example of over-laid, black ticker-tape text, sentences running in multiple directions intersecting one and other; ‘Tell me there is love’, ‘You are my sunshine’ and ‘Just one sweet kiss before goodbye’. “It is a great life as an artist you meet the craziest people… These are the real people. They’re you and me… This world we live in: the funny characters are the people living in it, the paint, all of it… I'm saying: I'm glad I was here."
I Miss You All So Much 1994 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 72 x 72 ins Catalogue no.1
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“In a painting you put yourself into it… I think you call it love.” Containing every classic ‘Spiller’ element, this painting has not been out of the studio for 25 years. Snow White was Moira’s cartoon ‘alter ego’ and the scribbled notes are of significant personal relevance, such as Velvet Underground’s ‘Sweet Jane’ lyrics evoking memories of listening to David’s classic cassette collection, singing and dancing together in the studio. The canvas hides sincere inscriptions and hidden messages: ‘Where is peace’, ‘I want you so bad’ and the ‘goggle-eyed’ woman with her legendarily found lucky shamrock, scrawled directly onto the canvas represents David’s mother Rose.
Kisses Sweeter than Wine 1996 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 60 x 60 ins Catalogue no.2
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David spent much of the late 90s in Belgium, where he executed a series of paintings of cartoon characters on the telephone, representing his connection with home. The pertinent lyrics invite the viewer to bring his or her own history to the communication. ‘I miss your arms around me’ ‘I believe we’ll meet again.’ The canvasses are loaded with associations across time and distance and include numerous personal references - as with many of David’s cartoon portraits, Betty is branded with his own Popeye inspired anchor tattoo. The rickety line is formed by the mechanics of enlarging a printed line from a comic, referencing back to screenprints he made in the 60s. “There are certain themes where we all touch base together. I’m voicing what happened to me, what happened to you.”
You Will Always Be in My Heart 1996 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 72 x 96 ins Catalogue no.3
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Till The End of Time 2014 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 55 x 55 ins Catalogue no.4
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Oh Boy 2014 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 55 x 55 ins Catalogue no.5
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In the late 80s David spent time at the British Museum Library and the Rijksmuseum where he gained scholarly access to the collection of Rembrandt’s pencil drawings and prints. David felt very privileged and a real connection to the historical works on paper and got a real ‘kick’ from being allowed to physically hold them in his hands. Rembrandt’s lion drawing for ‘Love is’ came from a small digitally scanned book reproduction. On the computer screen David was able to visualize different colour options and line intensities. He would then faithfully transpose the line, by hand, painting it onto the canvas, making it come alive, a life-sized resting lion. David originally intended to crop the image closer but decided to leave the raw canvas border, liking the unintentional carefree marks and text in the margins. He was referring back to his time as a student with Frank Auerbach; not having enough money for materials and so using raw, bare canvas to ration his paint and also presenting a contrast to the clinical and precise digital technology. Love Is 1997 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 64 x 104 ins Catalogue no.6
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BON POINT The images from several paintings in 1997-1999 were taken from Bon Point merit tokens that were handed out from my primary school as rewards for good work. David photographed and projected these tiny ink stamps, hugely magnifying them in order to faithfully transpose the image onto canvas, embracing the imperfections. “I always knew you should love the children but you should also love that little bit of child in you.” Picasso was one of David’s constant heroes and he loved his iconic representations of chickens and cockerels. David held a lifelong love for birds, understood their cultural and artists significance, he was well informed by notions of magic and legends, mythical beasts and transmuting into animal forms. David regularly incorporated his own stylised depictions onto his canvasses - sometimes benign sweet creatures and sometimes teeth bared like ferocious pterodactyls.
Just a Daydream Believer 1998 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 34 x 34 ins Catalogue no.7
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Read the News Today 1999 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 34 x 34 ins Catalogue no.8
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What a Wonderful World
It’s Written in the Stars
1998 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 34 x 34 ins
1998 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 34 x 34 ins
Catalogue no.9
Catalogue no.10
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Every Beat of My Heart 1998 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 34 x 34 ins Catalogue no.11
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David’s work often references ‘time’ and in the late 90’s David painted a series of clock paintings, all large-scale canvasses to recognise the milestone of the approaching new millennium. Aware that his own time was finite and to express his desire to hold time in suspended animation, David painted his clocks at a static, fixed time hoping that he could hold back time and ‘stay forever young’. With ‘Live love laugh and be happy’ David encourages us to appreciate that every minute is important and contains his imploring message not to waste it… “Time and age brings with it experiences and reflection… In this world of: Great cities, cathedrals, alligators, comedians, musicians, lovers, parents, children and ghosts… and knowing this same world to be crazy, certain things still hold true… Love is all there is.”
Live, Love, Laugh and Be Happy 1998 Mixed media 74 x 78 ins Catalogue no.12
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LANDSCAPES “The landscape is full of our histories… Places where men battled, where we walked hand in hand and played… Where we fished or made love, grew flowers and food… Where we watched the stars and buried our dead…” Born in Kent during the war, David regularly recounted stories of his mother working in the fields, harvesting potatoes and hop-picking. As a direct link to his childhood and later family holidays in 2003 David painted a series of utopian cartoon landscapes. The idealistic illustrations came from comic strips; the main characters digitally erased and the landscapes re-drawn. He wanted to make a wonderlust fantasy landscape of memory lane settings, idyllic and peaceful. “I remember lying on a haystack in Swanley searching the skies for a glimpse of a flying saucer…” David intended the landscapes to appear printed and effortless, however they were painstakingly designed and hand painted. Unlike earlier works which had been scrubbed against the studio floor, he wanted to make a pure and perfect surface, sanding areas down to remove any evidence of brush strokes - it was all about mood and colour. On this series of paintings he consciously decided to use ‘no words’. He felt passionately he should always have the freedom to express and paint whatever he wanted to, to step outside his comfort zone always saying he wanted to be like a film director, never wanting to be typecast, maintaining his independence and a desire to do the unexpected. He did not want to ‘limit’ himself preferring to challenge perceptions of his own artistic presence and break away from constraints “Painting is what my life is. I treasure it. That doesn’t mean it has to be polite. You can read what you want into it. It’s not media art, it’s man’s handprint, woman’s handprint, it’s our handprint… All we're all doing is leaving our fingerprints… Leaving our mark.”
Summer Days I thought Would Never End 2003 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 42 x 42 ins Catalogue no.13
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Who’s Going to Hold Your Hand Tonight
Slow Down My Beating Heart
2003 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 42 x 42 ins
2003 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 42 x 42 ins
Catalogue no.14
Catalogue no.15
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You Were Always on My Mind 2003 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 42 x 42 ins Catalogue no.16
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Such a Perfect Day
Crazy Days
2015 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 27 x 26 ins
2015 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 27 x 26 ins
Catalogue no.18
Catalogue no.19
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Let’s Twist Again 2015 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 33 x 39 ins Catalogue no.20
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STENCILLED TEXT PAINTINGS “I think it is desperation a lot of the time in my work… What the hell do you do? You work like a child with a tower of bricks, building this thing, and there comes a point when you want to push it over. I make the wall and then scribble on it.” David often referred to his paintings as “walls.” and having lived in New York and Berlin in the 80s David felt the significance of walls for conveying messages, propaganda and division, from the potency and imagery he saw on both the Berlin Wall and graffiti of Manhattan. He loved the notion of building his own wall and defacing it by scribbling on it, like a child with building blocks that had been carefully placed, the primal urge and satisfaction in knocking it down. David laboriously assembled his ‘walls’ by cutting and splicing swatches of canvas together. Panels were ‘neurosurgically’ taken apart, reversed and reassembled into new paintings. Colour swatches, painted and raw canvas, stenciled letters and scribbles would be painstakingly assembled on an old Singer sewing machine. This unique way of constructing a painting gave him the freedom to remove or add panels, to obtain the “right” balance. “All the pieces of canvas are in a box and I keep moving them around on the floor until I find a combination I am happy with. Bits of canvas are left lying around and get walked on and painted on – Like a collage I can re-introduce pieces and make links back to earlier works… They gain a bit of history that I then sew together to make a single canvas”… Part of me wants them to be like something you found… Not art.”
For Your Love 2015 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 46 x 32 ins Catalogue no.21
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Take Me Home 2015 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 46 x 32 ins Catalogue no.22
Golden Years 2016 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 48 x 48 ins Catalogue no.23
You Make My Heart Sing 2016 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 34 x 36 ins Catalogue no.24
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I’ll See You in My Dreams 2015 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 48 x 48 ins Catalogue no.25
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HAND-DRAWN TEXT David referred to this series of paintings as his 10 commandments. Like Moses with his tablets, these were David’s important rules to live by; passionate, direct messages and proclamations. ‘Love you all the world’ and ‘Have I told you lately that I love you.’ He worked directly in paint onto the canvas, capturing a moment, holding on to the energy before it got away - heartfelt immediate sentiments. Within the paintings are further hidden messages ‘I’ll love you forever’ and ‘I’ll be waiting for you.’ David never wanted play it safe, preferring to balance on the edge and be characteristically unpredictable and wild. “It’s about making something come alive. I would like people to walk into the gallery and smile… You owe it to people to be a bit crazy… To try things… To: Take a walk on the wild side…”
Love You All the World 2009 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 28 x 24 ins Catalogue no.26
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Just You Know Why (Oh Boy) 2010 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 28 x 24 ins Catalogue no.27
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Show Me the Way 2014 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 28 x 24 ins Catalogue no.28
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You & Me 2016 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 29 x 25 ins Catalogue no.29
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Once Upon a Time 2016 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 29 x 25 ins Catalogue no.30
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Crazy World
Til the End of Time
2006 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 16 x 16 ins
2011 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 16 x 16 ins
Catalogue no.31
Catalogue no.32
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Such a Perfect Day
Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
2015 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 27 x 26 ins
2016 Acrylic and pencil on canvas 27 x 26 ins
Catalogue no.33
Catalogue no.34
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BIOGRAPHY
1942 1957 1958-62 1962-65 1980s 1987
1988
1989 1990
1991 1992
1993
1994
1995 1996 1997 1998
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Born in Dartford Kent Sidcup School of Art Beckenham School of Art Kent Slade School of Art London Lived and worked in Berlin and New York Zeitkunst Gallery Innsbruk & Cologne (solo show) (Catalogue) Eugene Lendel Gallery Gras Austria (solo show) Woord & Reeld Museum Hedendaagse Kunst Utrecht Holland Woord & Reeld Stadtmuseum Ratingen Germany Materialisation Mannheim Kunstverein Germany Twinings Gallery New York (solo show) Kana Contemporary Arts Gallery Berlin (solo show) Zeitkunst Gallery Innsbruck & Cologne (solo show) (Catalogue) Twinings Gallery New York (solo show) Alexander Roussos Gallery London (solo show) Twinings Gallery New York (solo show) (Catalogue) Ariadne Gallery Vienna (solo show) Ariadne Gallery Vienna (solo show) Willy Schoots Gallery Eindhoven Holland (solo show) Reflex Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland Pop & Artvertising Museum Van Bomme, Venlo, Holland Gallery Naviglio, Milan & Venice, Italy, solo show) Gallery Naviglio Milan & Venice Italy Gallery Rokoko Stuttgart Germany (solo show) Gallery Ferdinand Maier Cologne Germany (solo show) Gallery Moderne Silkeborg Denmark (solo show) Gallery Cotthem Knokke Belgium (solo show) Kasten Steinmetz Mannheim (solo show) Galley Moderne Silkeborg Denmark Gallery Cotthem Knokke Belgium (solo show) Museum Van Bommel - Van Dam Venlo Holland Gallery Cotthem Knokke Belgium (solo show) Gallery Cotthem Barcelona Spain (solo show) (Catalogue) Gallery Ribbentrop Munich Germany Take 3 Beaux Arts London Rokoko Gallery Stuttgart Germany (works on paper) Gallery Cotthem Knokke Belgium (solo show)
1998 1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Beaux Arts London (solo show) (Catalogue essay by Edward Lucie-Smith) Cartoons and Comics Virgin Atlantic Artists of fame & Promise Beaux Arts London Gallery Moderne Silkeborg Denmark Beaux Arts London (solo show) (Catalogue essay by Linda Saunders) Gallery Moderne Denmark (solo show) (catalogue essay by Edward Lucie-Smith) Simmer Beaux Arts London Guy Pieters Gallery Knokke & Latem Belgium Guy Pieters Gallery St Paul de Vence France Gallery Camino Real Boca Raton Florida USA (solo show) Gallery Klaus Peter Goebel Stuttgart Germany Beaux Arts London (solo show) (Catalogue essay by Ben Tufnell) Gallery Moderne Silkeborg Denmark Summer Show Beaux Arts London Gallery Wild Frankfurt Germany (solo show) Beaux Arts London (solo show) (Catalogue essay by Marco Livingstone) Gallery Camino Real Boca Raton Florida USA (solo show) Museum Espace Belleville Paris (L’humour dans l’art Contemporian) Gallery Moderne Silkeborg Denmark Summer Show Beaux Arts London Beaux Arts London (solo show) (Catalogue essay by Martin Gayford) Royal West of England Academy (David Inshaw - Friends and Influences) Gallery Moderne Silkeborg Denmark Wild Gallery Frankfurt Germany (solo show) Summer Show Beaux Arts London Ernst Hilger Vienna Austria Guy Pieters Gallery Knokke Belgium (solo show) (Catalogue) Beaux Arts London (solo show) (Catalogue essay by Edward Lucie-Smith) Gallery Moderne Silkeborg Denmark Raab Gallery Berlin Germany (solo show)
2004 2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Guy Pieters Gallery St Paul de Vence France (solo show) (Catalogue essay by Edward Lucie-Smith) Wild Gallery Frankfurt Germany (solo show) Love for Sale Bankside Gallery London (Curated by Edward Lucie-Smith) Gallery Moderne Silkeborg Denmark Beaux Arts London (solo show) (catalogue essay by Sue Hubbard) Midwest Kunst Herning Museum Denmark Gallery Moderne Silkeborg Denmark (solo show) Apart Media Amsterdam (solo show) Summer show Beaux Arts London Artcurial Paris (mixed show) (Mickey dans tous ses etats) Mannheim Kunstverein Germany (solo show) (Catalogue essay Martin Stather) Gallery Wild Frankfurt (solo show) Guy Pieters Gallery Knokke Belgium (solo show) (Book essay by Edward Lucie-Smith) Gallery Moderne Silkeborg Denmark (solo show) (Catalogue essay Simon Grant) Tournesols Gallery Lyon France (solo show) Gallery Willy Schoots Eindhoven Holland (exhibition with Rik Van Irsel) Gallery Wild Frankfurt Germany Interatrium Gallery Porto Portugal (solo show) Beaux Arts London (solo show) (Catalogue essay Martin Gayford) Guy Pieters Gallery St. Paul de Vence France (solo show) (Book essay Martin Gayford) Guy Pieters Gallery Knokke (exhibition with Robert Combas) Beaux Arts London (solo show) (Catalogue essay Edward Lucie Smith) Espace Villegle St Gratien Paris (solo show) (Catalogue essay Edward Lucie-Smith) Beaux Arts London (solo show) (Catalogue essay Charles Darwent) Tournesols Gallery Vichy France (solo show) Gallery Moderne Silkeborg Denmark (solo show) (Catalogue essay Charles Darwent)
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015 2016 2017 2018
2019 2020
Guy Pieters Gallery Knokke Belgium (solo show) Guy Pieters Gallery Knokke Belgium (mixed show Jim Dine, Indiana, Warhol, Mel Ramos) Beaux Arts Gallery London (solo show) (Catalogue essay Sam Cornish) Fisherplatz Gallery Ulm Germany (solo show) Guy Pieters Gallery Knokke Belgium (mixed show Christo, Delvoye, Jan Fabre, Quinze) Portland Gallery London (solo show) (Catalogue essay Karen Wright) At the Gallery Antwerp Belgium (solo show) Guy Pieters Gallery Knokke Belgium (solo show) (Catalogue essay Emma Lilley) Portland Gallery London (solo show) Long-Sharp Gallery Indianapolis (2 man show) Bege/Fischerplatz Gallery Ulm (solo show) Guy Pieters Gallery Knokke Belgium (mixed show) Portland Gallery London (solo show) Guy Pieters Gallery Belgium (solo show) Gallery Moderne Silkeborg Denmark (mixed show) Gallerie Kasten Mannheim Germany (collages show) Long Sharp Gallery New York (solo show) Guy Pieters Gallery Knokke Belgium (mixed show) Stadtische Galerie Wangen im Allgau Germany (mixed museum show) Foundation Carmignac Porquerolles France (mixed museum show) Portland Gallery London (solo show) Portland Gallery London (solo show)
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