WEALD CONTEMPORARY Presents: Joseph Dilnot and David Surman
Location: 35 North Contemporary Fine Art, 35 North Rd, Brighton BN1 1YB
In Life Joseph Dilnot and David Surman remind us of the profound
connection between humanity and nature, delving into our shared history
and calling to mind the fragile state of all life on our rapidly changing planet.
Solitary animals and shifting landscapes inhabited by wandering
figures create allegories that reflect the contemporary human experience and
guide us to reconnect with the natural world.
Joseph Dilnot
Bio
Joseph Dilnot is a self taught artist who works predominantly in oil paint through which he creates a personal mythology with its own symbolism. His lyrical paintings explore imagined worlds where momentary insights and reflections on personal experiences are condensed into often enigmatic scenarios overlayed with gentle humour.
Artists Statement
Growing up living between the English Channel and the South Downs National Park, Dilnot draws great inspiration from the natural world. Elements of this are blended with references to history, myth and personal memories. Dilnot depicts landscapes, often inhabited by journeying, solitary figures placed into unremembered pasts. Lost in unnerving landscapes, they pursue answers to unknown questions, suggesting allegories for the contemporary condition. Dilnot's paintings explore grief but firmly hold on to a sense of wonder, hope and lightness.
David Surman
Bio
David Surman (b. 1981) is a British artist based in London. He has established an international reputation in contemporary art for his paintings exploring the conventions and boundaries of figuration. Through animal imagery he has developed a contemporary language embracing gestural expression, a knowledge of art history and pop cultural aesthetics such as cuteness. He is a graduate of the animation programme at the Newport Film School (2002) and the postgraduate film studies programme at Warwick University (2004). Recent solo exhibitions include ‘Sleepless Moon’ at Gallery THEO (2024) Seoul, ‘Portraits of a Wild Family’ Sens Gallery (2022) Hong Kong, ‘Fairy Painting’ Sim Smith (2021) London, and ‘Sirens’ (2019) also at Sim Smith. His work is held in several major public and private collections, including the UK Arts Council Collection, The McEvoy Foundation for the Arts, the Neumann Family collection, the Hornik Collection, Colección ALKAR Arriola Zugaza and Colección Espinosa de los Monteros Sáinz de Vicuña.
Artists Statement
In my art I use figurative forms, executed in a manner that appears easy and immediate. I do this because I feel art should be understood as something natural, like breathing, that comes spontaneously from all people. In each work my goal is to create a structure for thought and feeling that is both universal and specific.
35 North Contemporary Fine Art
35 North Road, Brighton, BN1 1YB
