David Surman

David Surman Photography by Rosalind Shahnavaz 2021

David Surman joins Weald Director Holly In Conversation delving into the complexities and contradictions at the heart of his artistic process. Exploring the often overlooked yet profound truths he draws upon, including the more vulnerable aspects of life that inspire his work. Surman reflects on his fascination with natural subjects and the inherent tension that emerges in his creative practice, a tension he believes is essential to his art. David's works have been showcased around the world, including exhibitions in Hong Kong, New York, Amsterdam and London. We caught up with him in the lead up to his current exhibition with us in Brighton…..

David - would you start please by introducing yourself and tell us a little

bit about yourself and your work.  

David - My name is David Surman, I’m an artist based in South East London right now. I live

there with my partner the artist Ian Gouldstone on the 22nd floor of an apartment

building overlooking the Thames. I work primarily in painting and drawing, though I

also make prints and sculptures from time to time.

I named the duo exhibition you are currently part of ‘Life’ as life is a key

theme in both yours and Joseph Dilnot’s work – a sense of energy,

vitality and connection to animals seems abundant – where does this

originate?

David - Every day we wake up with a certain amount of energy, and this changes depending

on our age, but each day we spend that precious allowance on things. As an artist

we spend it on making work, and somewhat resent having to spend it elsewhere. I

think this is because an artist gains insights into mortality through daily self

expression and this makes them mindful of wasted time. Animals never waste time,

they do everything for the perfect amount of time.

David Surman - After the Hunt Unicorn Steps out

You have shown your work internationally on several occasions, can

you tell me about some of your experiences?

David - I don’t really like to travel, I don’t like airports and the whole process of getting from

country to country. But taking my work to a new place with a new audience makes

travelling worthwhile, because people are most beautiful when you see them in their

own area, comfortable and settled. I arrive as the strange thing and they get to see

that, but then I get to see them happy and un-self-conscious. Which is a sensibility I

am interested in as an artist.

You have spoken before of your interest in human experience and our

impact on the natural world. Can you expand on this?

David - My home village was a very small place in a valley on the North Devon coast. Just

as I was hitting my teenage years we moved to the West Highlands of Scotland.

Nature was all around. In my lifetime I have seen it disappear, both through the

media and with my own eyes. A kind of silence is descending on the world as insects

and birds disappear. To me this is a very painful thing to contemplate and so I try to

make work that says ‘look at animals!’ because they are going away. Humans have

become alienated from the world by industrialisation, and we are in a post-industrial

phase now where we need to renew our connection with nature. I see my work as

part of that.

David Surman - Hungry Dog

In my recent studio visit, you showed me a series of works on paper

which serve as an ongoing investigation into your chosen subject or

animal, is there a particular subject that you find yourself returning to?

David - I don’t really know why I repeatedly paint certain animals, other than that I know

them very well and feel a connection to them. I often paint domesticated animals

because they are human-like and are a mirror for us. But really I want to live in a

world where nature is elevated and revered and not seen as disposable and

inconvenient. I’m really working from my memories and my personal experiences

and interpretations. I’m telling the story of what I have seen and how I felt about it.

Where did your practice begin and how has it evolved over time?

David - I trained as an animation filmmaker at a wonderful film school in Wales that now

doesn’t exist, at least not in the way it did. Then I went and studied film some more

at Warwick, and then I went into the world doing lots of different things, making films

and commercial projects, teaching, curating. I got a lot of life experience by really

following my instinct and allowing that and some luck to guide me. Living with Ian

has also been a huge influence on me, because both being artists we talk constantly

about art. The work I do now feels like the culmination of a lot of experimentation

over 20+ years since I graduated, but also I feel like I am just beginning. The world

has changed so much since I was an undergraduate, and I learned to not have

expectations and instead I just try to do my work.

What are you reading at the moment?

‘David - ‘The Longest Day’ by E. M. Forster

How do you see your work evolving in the future, and what new themes

or mediums interest you?

David - I would like to do more sculpture.

David Surman's Studio. 

As you may know, it is essential that we conclude with a studio playlist!

Please would you let me have a 5-10 track studio playlist? – this can be what

you are listening to now or an ultimate playlist.

Here’s five albums I have on rotation recently:

Weyes Blood -- An In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow

Casey Spooner -- With Love from Death Beach

Tindersticks -- The Something Rain

Miles Davis -- A Tribute to Jack Johnson

Chypho -- Entomongaku