David Rayson

The Waiting Room
School of Art and Design
University of Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton WV1 1SB

Curated by Esther Windsor

08.03.99 - 01.04.99

David Rayson graduated from the RCA having studied painting. He has had a solo show at Interim Art and has participated in several group shows. This exhibition features new work and a geographical return to the site of his memory and subject, in Wolverhampton. His work, in drawing and painting, has an intensity and concentration resonant with narrative and claustrophobic ambiguity. He depicts scenes and places devoid of people, where every day seems like a Sunday. Out of the ordinary, he moves between the unease of adolescent examination and adult responsibility. Suburbia, bridging town and country is represented with concrete, civic brickwork and lost spaces that speak painfully of security and what is out of sight but not out of mind.

“My pictures are all of real places reconstructed from memory. The works depict remembered spaces from the Ashmore Park and the Wednesfield area in Wolverhampton. Through these works I am exploring the psychological impact that these suburban environs had upon me whilst growing up in the area. Different aspects of a landscape are reconstructed, enabling me to scrutinise it’s houses, gardens, spaces and the people who live there and in turn reflect on myself, who no longer does. The new work focuses on the spaces between the houses, playing fields, open scrubland, small wooded areas and the towpath from Ashmore Park to Wednesfield. In these areas innocent pastimes like walking the dog, riding a bike, fishing for fish, exist alongside the more primeval activities which take place just beyond the view of the houses.“

List of Works

Racer 1998
pencil on paper
courtesy of Maureen Paley

Dandows Wood 1998
pencil on paper
courtesy of Maureen Paley

The Linthouse Bridge 1998
acrylic on board
courtesy of Thomas Dane, private collection , London

From Ashmore Park to Wednesfield : The Jet Bench 1999
acrylic on board
courtesy of the British Council

From Ashmore Park to Wednesfield : Doctors Surgery 1998
acrylic on board
courtesy of collection James Erskine, Sydney

Dandows Wood: The Lions Den 1999
pencil on paper
courtesy of Maureen Paley

Dandows Wood :Dandows Wood 1999
pencil on paper
courtesy of Maureen Paley

Dandows Wood : The Fishing Pond 1999
courtesy of Maureen Paley
pencil on paper

Dandows Wood : The short Cut 1999
pencil on paper
courtesy of Maureen Paley