Restoring the Spirit
By Mathew Fletcher-Jones
British artist David Somerville has been described as145;Basquait for our times, owing to his formidable skill as a colorist and his ability to express the narrative of life on canvas. His one-man show, "Stories from the Urban Jungle," does not disappoint – documenting life, humanity, the human spirit and social behaviour in extreme urban environments.
With "Stories from the Urban Jungle," Somerville returns to his artistic home, New York, where twenty years ago he met two major figures of inspiration, Warhol and Basquiat. It was within the energetic and vigorous New York of the time that Somerville would find his direction and aspirational stimulus.
Over the last four years, Somerville has collated a vast series pencil sketches and notes chronicling his encounters and observations of life on the streets of New York, Los Angeles and London. Drawing upon these experiences as well as his subconscious, Somerville captures the essence of a composition, constructing and re-ordering elements from real spaces in order to fashion hybrid imagined situations. The works in "Stories from the Urban Jungle" convey Somerville’s distinctive style and perspective – occasionally employing the bravado of Picasso or the lyricism of Matisse with a comparable prolific output.
In his works, Somerville, like Basquiat, uses coded symbols–namely the crucifix and his own angelic guardians– which represent and reference not only his personal spiritual journey but also, the more obscure abstract contemporary spirituality which influences and refracts today’s modern society. The angels act as spiritual guides and protectors whose optimistic presence transcend loss and fear within contemporary city life, as depicted in works such as Angel of Liberty and Freedom and Angel for New York.
Angel for New York is Somerville’s interpretation of a city in the wake of loss and destruction. The presence of an angel is the artist’s prayers of hope and comfort for a city in mourning. This is the only piece where Somerville has consciously chosen to omit the static monumental figures that form part of his distinct style.
The figures in Somerville’s work are employed to convey the discourse and variable emotions in human relationships. The Gathering, illustrates not only the artist’s bold use of colour but also, the stillness in his composition and capture the isolation and bewilderment of two Jamaican brothers who had just arrived in London. Again, in his piece Women of Chateau Marmont, the characters are situated in an abstract space yet occupy a dominant position in the foreground and appear to be failing to interact with each, isolated within the enveloping colours.
