Davardo

David Martin is an artist living and working in east Ayrshire. He goes by the professional name of Davardo. His work fall into several distinct and separate categories including found and made objects, sculpture and painting. The subject matter has distinct characteristics too. The object oriented work shows influences from Steve Buckley, a tutor of his at Chelsea. The sculpture and paintings fall into the expressionist category with influences that include Beckman and Nolde. The colourful style particularly in the object oriented work pays homage to Hodgkin. The figurative work comes under the general title of “curses, swears & maladictions”. These examples are often associated with the artists work in the criminal justice system and deal with social anxieties around domestic violence; poverty, mental health, deprivation and the exigencies of addiction. The artist lived and worked the south of England for 30 years with a career in academia, research and eduction. He eventually moved back to Scotland twelve years ago where he continues his artistic practice. 

I work across a number of aspects of art practice. My figurative work has a biographical history associated with it usually derived from experience with working in the health and social care/ Criminal justice system. Otherwise it derives from personal experiences of the transgressions of society and the impact of deprivation, violence and aspects of how society deals with perceptions of criminality. I also produce some constructions that are more commonly associated with abstraction. Although many of these too have a narrative substance to them.