David Abse

I was born in London in the UK, but now l have lived in France for many years where I paint, draw and live with my family and pets. I paint in different styles - this sometimes seems to be a disadvantage - and my work is sometimes abstract, sometimes figurative. It all stems from my obsessions and my drawings. Identity is a recurring theme, in all painting formats. I believe we all take on different identities at different times to meet what ever faces us at any particular place at any different time. We can all be children, parents, teachers, students, revolutionaries, conservative. How do we identify ourselves? Me? I am a painter. A disabled painter. A Jewish painter. A British Painter. A father. A man. I don't always know for sure. Paint your own revolution. Be what you need, and what you want.

Exhibitions: 1983: Tarmac Prize – Wolverhampton UK 1984: Ferens Art Gallery – Open - Hull UK 1984: Bradford Print Biennale - UK 1985: Kanagawa Print – Japan 1985: Leigh Gallery, Kings Cross, London (solo show) 1986: Open Print Exhibition, Krakow, Poland 2010: September: "New Paintings", Matelles-Art Gallery, France 2011: March: "Liquid Oxygen", Group Show, Icosahedron Gallery, New York, USA 2011: April: "Le Printemps en Folie", Le Soleil Bleu Galerie, Lodève, France 2011: May: "Animals", Art Nomade, Gignac, France 2011: May 21: Pic Saint Loup “Festa Trail”, St Mathieu, France 2011: June: "Boom", The Brick Lane Gallery, London, UK 2011: June/July: "Animaux", Matelles-Art Gallery, France 2011: October: Parallax Art Fair, London, UK 2012: June: "Fleurs", Matelles-Art Gallery, France 2012: July/August: "Celebration of Sport", Outside the White Cube, London, UK 2012: September: The Electric Cinema, Congleton, Cheshire, UK 2013: July/August: Vignes/Raisins/Vins, domaine St Michel Archange, Bize Minervois, France 2013: July/August: Concours Acrylique Boesner, Boesner, Bordeaux, France 2014: BizeArt, Bize-Minervois, France 2018: August: “Anyone can be Frida”, The Espacio Gallery, London UK Collections: Francis Kyle Gallery, London (1984-1990) Publications: June/July 2011 and August 2013 edition of L’Artiste magazine. June 2011: Artist of the month at LondonArt Illustrations: David's work has appeared in numerous magazines, on posters and book covers. He has illustrated a number of books and articles. Publishers include Robson Books, Poetry Wales, the Jewish Chronicle, the Hérault Times, Hutchinson, the Thin Blue Line, Rapport, Lauderdale House, the Felix Gluck Press and others. Most recently (October 2017) david provided the illustrations for Alaskan Lonely Hearts Club: And Other Unlikely Travel Tales Also, David is the creator of Purple Cat . Writing: As well as writing his blog, David has written for a number of magazines in the UK and France.

I studied art at the School of Art and Design at Wolverhampton University. I have a BA (hons) gained in 1983. I gained an MA much later at Keele University.