Artist
Artist
"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.“
I have gallery representation in Spain and Holland through ‘Villa del Arte’, in London with ‘The Russell Gallery’ and exclusive representation in the Nordic countries through ‘The Nordic Art Agency’ that covers Sweden, Denmark and Norway. I have extensive experience working on both private and commercial commissions having created projects for Rachel Usher Interiors, Fenton Whelan, London and Icart Miami among others. Please use the contact form if you wish to receive periodic updates of exhibitions and new work before they are available to the wider public, commissions, a studio visit in Barcelona or for Masterclasses.
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.
Spring Leaves
80cm dia Gold Leaf, oil on canvas with varnish.
AVAILABLE CHIAROSCURO Solo Show, The Russell Gallery 21st February - 9th March 2019
Autumn Leaves
80cm dia Gold Leaf, oil on canvas with varnish.
AVAILABLE CHIAROSCURO Solo Show, The Russell Gallery 21st February - 9th March 2019
Chiaroscuro with Gold Leaves
120cm x 60cm Gold Leaf, oil on canvas with varnish.
AVAILABLE CHIAROSCURO Solo Show, The Russell Gallery 21st February - 9th March 2019
Falling Golden Leaves
110cm x 110cm Gold Leaf, oil on canvas with varnish.
AVAILABLE CHIAROSCURO Solo Show, The Russell Gallery 21st February - 9th May 2019
Into the Heart 110cm dia
Oil, gold leaf on canvas tondo
AVAILABLE at 60 Threadneedle Street until 9th May 2019 contact the artist.
Summer Moon 110cm x 110cm
Oil, Gold leaf on canvas.
AVAILABLE at CHIAROSCURO Solo Show at The Russell Gallery, London 21st February - 9th March 2019
Chiaroscuro Sky 150cm x 100cm
AVAILABLE through The Russell Gallery at CHIAROSCURO Solo Show from 21st Feb - 9th March 2019
Autumn Light
AVAILABLE at the CHIAROSCURO Solo Show from the 21st Feb - 9th March at The Russell Gallery
160cm x 100cmOil, gold leaf on canvas.
Golden Leaves in Spring 150cm x 90cm
AVAILABLE at CHIAROSCURO through the Russell Gallery London From 21ST FEB - 9TH MARCH
Autumn Canopy with Copper
AVAILABLE at CHIAROSCURO Solo Show at The Russell Gallery, London
160cm x 100cm copper leaf, oil on canvas
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.
In the Beech Canopy 195cm x 130cm copper leaf, oil on canvas. This piece is based on time spent in the Empordá area of Catalunya, Spain.
Private Collection
Into the Woods in Blue is a continuation of a series of paintings based on the woods around the Empordá area of Catalunya. The silver birches in Winter are a ethereal and beautiful AVAILABLE through The Russell Gallery
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.
Daytime view of Looking West a private commission in Hong Kong framed in a simple floating birch frame.
CALA Private Commission in Hong Kong. The client and I discussed the placing and lighting of the copper painting as well as it’s relationship with an ancient Japanese print. The client wanted a harmonious, zen interior that was also uplifting. Here you can see it has been embedded in the wall to frame the piece.
KINTSUGI II installed in a beautiful kitchen in Malmö, Sweden. Thank you to the Nordic Art Agency and please contact Juliet
Photography and Design
Photography and Design
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.
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.
The beautiful ceiling light at the Casa Batllo in Barcelona print available through the The Shed Gallery
A man waiting for the tram in Lisbon, he casts a disconsolate figure and could be from any era.
Doors are a continuing fascination, the gateway to somewhere, sanctuary and also to keep fear at bay.
Biography and CV
Biography and CV
Chelsea is a British artist who was born in London and 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 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 three solo shows. She continues to be represented by Villa del Arte in Amsterdam & Barcelona as well as The Nordic Art Agency in Sweden. 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.
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
Solo Show, Evidence of Life, Tasneem Gallery
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
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)
Donostiartean Art Fair, San Sebastian, Galería Gaudí, (20th - 23rd July)
Bazaar Art Jakarta, Indonesia, Villa del Arte Gallery (27th July - 2nd August)
Art Stage Jakarta, Indonesia, Villa del Arte Gallery (11th August - 13th August)
'Reflecting the Light' Solo show, Courtyard Gallery, Lyme Regis, (17th August - 5th September)
Berlin Liste, Berlin, Germany, Galería Gaudi, (15th - 17th September)
AAF Stockholm, Sweden, Nordic, Art Agency, (12th - 15th October)
AAF Battersea, London, The Russell gallery, (19th - 22nd October)
2018
Group show Pop-Up Malmo, Sweden, Nordic Art Agency, (1st - 21st March)
The Other Art Fair, Saatchi Art, (20th - 22nd March)
'Rooms' Green Gallery, Scotland, (18th - 25th March)
Affordable Art Fair, New York, Villa Del Arte Gallery, Barcelona (22nd - 25th March)
Nordic Art Fair, Copenhagen, (20th -22nd April) Nordic Art Agency
Affordable Art Fair Hampstead, London, (10th -13th May) The Russell Gallery
Stories from the City - Stories from the Sea, Solo Show, (28th June - 11th July) Malthouse Gallery, Lyme Regis
Artist Exposé - Nordic Art Agency, Malmó, Sweden, (6th - September to 6th October)
START Art Fair - SAATCHI GALLERY - London (12th - 16th September) Eclectic Gallery Stand 11.3
Affordable Art Fair Battersea, London (18th - 21st October) The Russell gallery
2019
Solo Show 60 Threadneedle Street, (31st January - 15th May) London
CHIAROSCURO - (21st February - 9th May) The Russell Gallery, London