Interview with Nick Dawes

Nick Dawes, 24TH, 2022, Oil on Canvas, 19 3/4 X 23 5/8 in
 

SAPAR Contemporary

September 9 through October 16, 2022

By OCEANA ANDRIES, October 2022

Nick Dawes, b. 1969, is an abstract artist based in London with an artistic practice spanning 30 years. Dawes begins his creative process with a walk. What inspires the artwork are the street signs he encounters. He then takes the words and disassembles them until there is a sketch of abstract shapes. In his studio, the process continues into further disassembly of the known to reassemble an abstract interpretation on canvas. Utilizing industrial household paint and unprimed canvas, his process is completely brushless, through pouring the thinned paint onto the canvas; he meticulously creates each layer, only going over it once it has dried. 

The dismantling of the engineered, with the focus on creating organic shapes, gives us insight into his art practice and a glimpse into his personable nature. With a preference to grow organic connections, he is less inclined toward telling his story to an invisible online population and is focused on nurturing individual bonds and telling his story through conversation. If he's ever showing in your area, be sure to have a word with him at a reception and get more insight into his fascinating process. His work is currently on view in the exhibition 'Nostalgia' with artist Zsofia Schweger at Sapar Contemporary.  
 

Nick Dawes, Blvd, 2022 Oil on canvas 82 5/8 x 106 1/4 in

OCEANA ANDRIES: The inspiration in your work stems from road maps and signs. From your work, it seems that you're very interested in where something has been and where it's going. 

NICK DAWES: I'm more interested in the information, taking elements of information from them, from the text associated with them rather than the actual shapes. I've always been interested in this idea of order and chance. Using a kind of readymade but not using photography was interesting to me. It kind of gives you a reason to start something, and it structures the work, and then the work can transform. When you're working with very thin glazes, you're always aware that you can never really completely cover what's underneath. You'll still be able to see it. So that's how you think almost three-dimensionally about what goes on before and to what will be revealed at the end. That's something which I always think about. 

Nick Dawes, Level, 2022, Oil on Canvas, 55 1/8 x 74 3/4 in

The end product of your work seems to completely transform from its inspiration; are there any indications of its origin we can identify? 

That's another idea I'm interested in, the idea of something being one thing and then transforming into something else and then almost being able to see that happening. As you look at the work, I think that's really important. So the idea of transformation, but also sort of maintaining some sort of connection or touch with reality. Things like signs and markings are fixed and very determined. They direct in a certain way, and they're quite good to work with because it's like a set of rules which you can start to play with and abstract. The title of the work is the text that you see in the painting. It's been quite a heavy work done by that stage. They become something else, really, and they transform into something like landscapes. I'm used to that transformation from, you know, something engineered into something organic. 

Where do you see your art going? And not only in terms of your personal practice but also in terms of representing yourself within the art industry. 

I tend to take one step at a time and just see how that works and to see what happens. It depends on so many different factors, but hopefully to continue developing my work and also to have the opportunity to show it in various forms. WM