"Every painting I begin, the layers and texture continue to fascinate me as does the process. My subject matter remains the same, the material itself, the coast, the sea, lines of desire that criss-cross the landscape, time and its corrosive effect on materials and finding the beauty in what we see around us. The world filters into my studio, colour, light, politics, religion, people. Conversations remain with me, maps mesmerize me, travel enthuses me. Creating and painting is an imperative I couldn’t live a day without.“

Chelsea Davine

This portfolio shows my most recent body of work available to buy through either the studio or the various galleries that represent me. For further information please fill in the form below or in CONTACT and I will get back to you.

This collection of work represents some of my most emblematic paintings from various collections and exhibitions I've had over the past 8 years. They include a group collaboration 'ARBORETUM:Art inspired', 'What lies Within', 'Where East meets West', 'Albion', 'Hunters - Harvest Moon', 'Come into the Light', 'Evidence of Life' 'Lines of Desire' and 'Shoreline'.

In each collection I hold an idea and try to capture the essence of that idea either on steel or canvas. As I explore each theme I aim to find an element that will resonate with the viewing public and that each piece has a harmony and balance to it.

I start with the base: concrete, steel, copper or canvas. I like the texture of the surface to be smooth to the touch. I then layer fine, thin layers of oil or pour, dribbles of paint onto the surface and between each layer I suspend delicate gold, copper or silver leaf. I then scrape, crack or corrode the medium often with sea water or acrylic paint. Then it's all about balance and light; How does the light shift and settle between the dappled leaves in autumn and spring? How does that pathway come into being across the landscape or through a glade? How do countries nestle next to each other creating philosophical tension and yet the rivers continue to flow through the landscape. The power of the swell on the shoreline in winter as the westerlies roll in to the benign beauty of a lapping waves in summer, shimmering and inviting.  The beauty of dawn and dusk, the warmth and promise of a new day and the dying of the one before to then be greeted by the rising full Harvest Moon in Autumn that glows almost too heavy for the sky to hold.

Installed artwork:

This collection shows a range of artwork and design at art fairs, on display in galleries and most importantly in clients' homes. Working on commission is an incredibly important part of my working practice. Seeing the final artwork installed is always a thrill. If you wish to discuss a similar project to any of the images below, please get in touch using the contact form in CONTACT ME.

My photographs seem secondary to my painting however they are a vital part of my visual diary.  This body of work has been built up from my travels and daily life. I look for and record both physically and keep in my mind sculptural elements, textures, juxtaposed interplays of colour and subject matter. I focus on composing a balanced image through the view finder without staging, using natural light, trying to capture a candid moment, detail or sculptural form. My iPhone overflows with visual references I come back to time and again in the studio. Once there the radio is a constant, music, lyrics and the energy live music has all filter into the work.

When I'm tucked away in the studio I spend a lot of time thinking, reflecting and remembering my 'outside' the studio experiences. As an art student I was profoundly influenced by the changing face of London, the Erasmus I completed in Valencia, working in the stone quarries in Portland, Dorset, and one particular trip to the former shipyard, Swan Hunter, in the north-east of England. I have a vivid memory of standing in the foundry, watching as formidable metals became malleable through intense pressure and heat.

"I can still feel the freezing cold, and recall the colour and intense heat of the furnace and the smell of molten metal"

It was a formative experience and I knew I wanted to bring out the intensity of colour, transformation and industrial process in my work. I wanted to "Make something beautiful and delicate out of something as uncompromising as steel, stone, copper or lead." 

However it is not the purity and permanence of the metal that interests me, but how it ages. The metal is my canvass on which I study the effect of time, water and oxygen - using it to corrode the protective oily skin that preserves the surface of steel, then scratching it to encourage rust. From this, layer by layer, I create three-dimensional abstracts - "paint sculptures" - where textures and colours merge and change with alterations in the light. The gold leaf is burnished, broken down and then brought back to life almost reborn as molten liquid images with a deep chiaroscuro creating rich colour scapes that change with the light.

I am also passionate about design both practical, interior and Industrial. I imagine interiors for my work, site specific murals in my mind. I love designing bespoke furniture especially reusing found objects which satisfies my desire to one day move back into sculpture as a main part of my practice.

Chelsea is a British artist who was born in London but grew up in Lyme Regis, on the Dorset coast. After completing her A levels at Exeter 6th Form College Chelsea moved to London in the early 90's to do her Foundation at Chelsea Art College.

She studied sculpture at the old Hornsey Art College in North London, whose alumni include Richard Wilson, Richard Wentworth and Anish Kapoor. In her second year she completed a 3 month Erasmus sculpture programme at Valencia University.

Chelsea moved to Barcelona shortly after completing her degree enthused by the light and cultural dynamism of the Catalan capital. Once there she returned to her practice and spent time designing bespoke furniture mainly from steel and wood and working in Interior Design.

 In 2009 with her first solo show with Tasneem Gallery in Barcelona she moved to a large studio next to Tapies' studio in the bohemian Gracia area of the city. Her work grew in size and commissions for paintings became a fundamental part of her practice often working with local architects and International clients who walked past her studio.

Chelsea was awarded the Artist in Residence at The Boat Building Academy, Lyme Regis 2010/2012 a mutually beneficial working experience where the line between craft, sculpture and painting became further blurred for Chelsea. This allowed her to explore the themes of 'Shoreline' bringing the strands together of corrosion and using steel and sea water.

Chelsea has a long standing relationship with the Russell Gallery in London with whom she has had two solo shows with a third in Spring 2017. She continues to be represented by Villa del Arte Amsterdam / Barcelona as well as Art 5 gallery in Brighton and Luminaire Arts agency based in London. She has shown at art fairs from Singapore to New York, London to Hamburg.

The art critic Alex Bahna-Philips notes, Chelsea's inspiration is the small, often unnoticed details which make up everyday life: "Chimney smoke, burnished gold, patterns under peeling paint, broken stairs leading nowhere, the ravages of time etched onto metal, a pathway through an arid landscape…"

Since moving to Barcelona with her family in 1998, Chelsea's work has also been deeply influenced by the light and colour of Spain. 

"In London, I used concrete and grey; in Barcelona I use steel, red and gold" , she says.

With her roots in sculpture and her fascination with the passage of time and the relationship between objects and their environment, Chelsea's work fits into the tradition Eduardo Chillida and Andy Goldsworthy, whose work plays on the temporality of nature with the large abstract expressionism of Rothko and his colour fields.

Sarah Russell-Walling, owner of the Russell Gallery, which represents Chelsea in London says: 

"Chelsea's work has an immediate appeal and a very direct visual impact coupled with an international flavour."

Tasneem Salam believes that it is precisely her ability to celebrate the mundane along with the vibrancy of Chelsea's palette and the richness of her texturing that underpins the unique allure of her work. She explains: 

"Chelsea's work, with its wonderful juxtaposition of texture and colour, is an affirmation of the beauty of life, if we know how to look for it."

If you wish to see a timeline of exhibitions and fairs Chelsea has exhibited in then read her CV.

CV

1971 Born London

1991-92 Foundation Chelsea School of Art, London

1992-95 Fine art degree Middlesex University, London (Including 3 months Erasmus at Valencia University)

2004 Solo photographic exhibition and founded 5 in a box artists' cooperative

2006 Founded Milk interiors/design studio and gallery, Barcelona.

2008 Solo painting, sculpture, photographic exhibition C/Mallorca, Barcelona

2009 

EuropArt Fair, Geneva with Tasneem Gallery

Affordable Art Fair, London with Russell Gallery (22-25 October)

Exhibited Abstracted - Distracted (Collective Exhibition), Barcelona with Tasneem Gallery (22 October - 14 November)

Mixed Christmas Exhibition, London with Russell Gallery (3 December - 23 January)

2010 

Artist in Residence at The Boat Building Academy, Lyme Regis 2010/2012

20/21st Royal College of Art (16-21 February )

ARTSFEST Lyme Regis at The Boat Building Academy (15-22 September)

AAF Battersea, London (21-25 October)

2011 Solo Show, Russell gallery

Open studio, Lyme Regis (24 August - 4 September)

AAF Battersea, AAF Hampstead Russell Gallery

2012

'Coast' Group Show, Malthouse, Lyme Regis (30 December - 9 January)

Women in Art 2012, The Gallery at MOA Miami with Crisolart Gallery, Barcelona (9 March)

2013

Solo Show, Russell Gallery, London April

Spring AAF Amsterdam, AAF Milan, Villa del Arte Galleries

'Albion', group exhibition Cock 'n' Bull gallery, Shoreditch, London (7-14 April)

'Come into the Light' Solo Show, Russell Gallery, London (4-21 July)

Shed Gallery Summer group show, Lyme Regis, Dorset, England (21 August - 6 September)

Autumn AAF Battersea Russell Gallery, London, 

AFF New York, Seattle, Stockholm, Singapore Villa del Arte gallery, Barcelona, Spain

2014

AAF Brussels , Villa Del Arte (7-9 February)

Palm Beach , Villa Del Arte (14-18 February)

AAF Milan , Villa Del Arte (6-9 March)

AAF Hong Kong , Villa Del Arte (21-23 March)

AAF Maastricht , Villa Del Arte (2-6 April)

Chelsea Art Fair , Russell Gallery(10-13 April)

AAF Brussels , Villa Del Arte (24-28 April)

'Tallers Oberts' (Open Studios) in Barcelona, Calle Carolinas (3-4 May)

AAF Toronto, Villa Del Arte (7-11 May)

Art Fair at the RCA (20-21 May) Russell Gallery (15-18 May)

20/21 International Art Fair Russell Gallery (17-18 May)

AAF Singapore, Villa Del Arte (21-25 May)

AAF Battersea Russell Gallery (22-25 Oct)

AAF Stockholm (1-4 Nov)

Sleep Design event with Go Figurative Gallery

2015

 Winter Collective, Russell gallery 2014/2015

AAF Brussels, Villa Del Arte (6-9 Feb)

ART Karlsruhe (5-8 March) Villa Del Arte

'Open Studio' March 18th Barcelona

'Broadchurch', West Bay, Shed Gallery (29 April-1 May)

Chelsea Art Fair, Russell Gallery (16-19 April)

20/21 International Art Fair Russell Gallery (14-17 May)

AAf Hampstead, Villa Del Arte, (11-14 Jun)

Open Studio, Lyme Regis, August 1-31 August

Summer Collective July/August Russell Gallery

AAF Battersea (22-25 Oct)

AAF Amsterdam Kromhouthal with Villa Del Arte (29 October-1 November)

2016

Affordable Art Fair Hong Kong, Villa Del Arte (May 13-15th)

Affordable Art Fair Hampstead, Villa del Arte (June 16-19)

'Instant' Group Photographic and Painting exhibition, Lyme Regis (August 18th - 1st September)

Affordable Art Fair Battersea, Russell Gallery (October 20-23)

2017

Solo Show 'FLOW' 6th March - 1st April, The Russell Gallery, London.

Affordable Art Fair New York,  Villa del Arte Gallery (31st March - 4th April)

Affordable Art Fair Hampstead, London, Russell Gallery (11th - 14th May)