MICHAEL DAVIES FINE ART
Photography
My formal introduction to art began in 1979 when I enrolled at theMichaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town.
As a white South African photographer growing up in the shadow ofapartheid, I found myself overwhelmed with conflicting images ofnatural beauty, human suffering, violence, hope and despair. Despite allthe chaos, which seemed to surround me, I was able, over the years, tocreate a portfolio of photographic images, which not only documentedthis struggle but similarly encapsulated the splendour of the landscape.
Sculpture.
There was a natural tendency to gravitate towards creating metalsculptures, born from my earlier engineering experiences andrelationship with my family roots in the South African gold miningindustry on the Witwatersrand.
My welding skills developed initially from creating simple functional artforms using soft, mild steel into the more complex stainless sculpturesusing the Tungsten Inert Gas or TIG process.
A considerable amount of time and energy is expended in creating oneof these sculptures, as the material is extremely hard and unyielding.The recent concept of having the originals cast into a limited edition ofbronzes has produced an entirely new range. The intense energy of thewelding process creates unique abstract textures, which are naturallyreflected in the hot bronze casting. With the addition of the final patina,the bronze sculptures have taken the original stainless steel conceptto another level, at the same time making it more affordable for thecollector.
My inspiration and ideas are drawn directly from frequent excursionsinto the Southern African bushveld and other remote wilderness areaslike Antarctica. This provides an opportunity to reflect, observe andrecord.
Although my sculptures are a personal interpretation and to a certainextent represent objects of beauty, I hope the underlying metaphorwill illuminate the desperate need to conserve and protect our naturalheritage areas from further extermination.
The work on display tonight reflects a small example, I have not beenable to cover all aspects of the photography in particular the socialdocumentary work.
This can be seen on my website, www.michaeldaviesfineart.com
and by visiting my blog, www.myfineartportfolio.com.
My formal introduction to art began in 1979 when I enrolled at theMichaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town.
As a white South African photographer growing up in the shadow ofapartheid, I found myself overwhelmed with conflicting images ofnatural beauty, human suffering, violence, hope and despair. Despite allthe chaos, which seemed to surround me, I was able, over the years, tocreate a portfolio of photographic images, which not only documentedthis struggle but similarly encapsulated the splendour of the landscape.
Sculpture.
There was a natural tendency to gravitate towards creating metalsculptures, born from my earlier engineering experiences andrelationship with my family roots in the South African gold miningindustry on the Witwatersrand.
My welding skills developed initially from creating simple functional artforms using soft, mild steel into the more complex stainless sculpturesusing the Tungsten Inert Gas or TIG process.
A considerable amount of time and energy is expended in creating oneof these sculptures, as the material is extremely hard and unyielding.The recent concept of having the originals cast into a limited edition ofbronzes has produced an entirely new range. The intense energy of thewelding process creates unique abstract textures, which are naturallyreflected in the hot bronze casting. With the addition of the final patina,the bronze sculptures have taken the original stainless steel conceptto another level, at the same time making it more affordable for thecollector.
My inspiration and ideas are drawn directly from frequent excursionsinto the Southern African bushveld and other remote wilderness areaslike Antarctica. This provides an opportunity to reflect, observe andrecord.
Although my sculptures are a personal interpretation and to a certainextent represent objects of beauty, I hope the underlying metaphorwill illuminate the desperate need to conserve and protect our naturalheritage areas from further extermination.
The work on display tonight reflects a small example, I have not beenable to cover all aspects of the photography in particular the socialdocumentary work.
This can be seen on my website, www.michaeldaviesfineart.com
and by visiting my blog, www.myfineartportfolio.com.
Homage To Salvador Dali Stainless Steel Original
Ostrich Duo Stainless Steel Original
