David Manley

Derby, United Kingdom

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Our experts’ perspective

Mighty traveller moving from body to body, making no exceptions, grinning on conquest, having the shape of splendid geometrical poetry as a reminder. If Ebola had a face, it would be a shade of purple with yellow deadly ribbons and orange dots for cheeks. If Influenza had a face, it would be partly green with black connected eyes to abyss. If Yellow Fever had a face it would definitely be a mustard yellow with patches of brown, drowning into the endless blue silence each time.

The abstract art of David Manley focused on a series of related works, concerning a wide range of subjects. The "Deadly Delicious" collection reveals the beauty that results from the electron microscope, when examining serious viruses and subverts these images through oils, watercolours and drawings in charcoal. Other series are purely a photographic exploration of landscape and environmental concerns, picturing a town or village but in fact depicting the true spirit of the district.

This artist in some magical way finds the balance to rule over a chaotic world, reveals beauty from scattered patterns invisible to the naked eye, embraces poetry like an injected germ into the physical blood vain of his pieces and creates art out of bizarre notions; in his hands the fear of illnesses becomes perfection in disguise. Everything that stands on the margin of time must somehow be defined, whether it's slow music, a valley at sunset or the bittersweet ending upon leaving.

About

David Manley

David has been making paintings for quite a while... studying at some fine old art schools, Exeter, Falmouth & Birmingham before being awarded a prestigious Cheltenham Fellowship in 1974. Besides continuing his practice as a painter, he worked in galleries, arts funding and higher education for many years. Following a decade leading the art school at Derby University, he focussed exclusively on his painting after completing a Master's degree in Photography in Leicester. Recent exhibitions include China, Germany, South Korea and Sweden. He is an artist of over forty years of professional engagement.

Oct2020