David Sharp lives and works in South London. He has painted all his life and has also worked as an art director, graphic designer and illustrator for variety of clients including The Post Office, London Transport, Harrods, Liberty, National Theatre and the Royal Ballet. His work is in many private collections all over the world and he has shown extensively.
His beautifully realistic drawings and paintings are meticulous in their executions that have an edge in surreality and metaphor. The images in the paintings and etchings show both the light and dark side of life with a combination of humour, pathos and mystery.
"My choice of subjects has generally always been metaphorical. I mainly choose images of the vulnerability of the environment and social behavioural imbalance. This is apparent more particularly in my etchings that are more satirical in their execution. Influences in my etching are by Hogarth, Gillray, and Georg Grosz.
"There is a conceptual compatibility, not necessarily reflected in image between my etching, drawing and painting.
"The majority of my work is figurative. It has evolved more recently into the depiction of human flesh, transcribing the hieroglyphics of surface, to give the subject sensitivity, vulnerability, yet confidant nakedness.
"I am also investigating ideas relating to the metamorphosis of inanimate objects into flesh and blood, using colour, texture and the spatial relationship of elements within the composition, mortalising rather than immortalising, infusing life into solid matter, thereby transforming it from the permanent into something fragile and ephemeral.
"In some pieces I add an accompanying text or typographically and visual addition."
David Sharp
"David Sharp’s paintings have a meticulous attention to the detail of both texture and light, whilst at the same time leading the viewer to discover a surreal quality within the image. All is not what it seems at first sight." Anthony Sedgwick
