David Mcdowell

David McDowell. (b.1986, Northern Ireland. McDowell is a contemporary figurative painter. Graduating from University of Ulster in 2008 with a BA hons Degree in Fine & Applied Art he is currently forging a career as an international artist. McDowell is represented by Canvas Galleries, Belfast.

My practice takes the form of figurative oil painting with particular focus on light, composition and colour. Conceptually I aim to exploit facets of human intimacy, privacy, sensuality and tension. My recent works play on the notion of taking a private moment and making it public, where the viewer becomes the voyeur.

My practice juxtaposes a sweet palette with an unsettling subject matter. The focal point is often placed off-centre, with a secondary presence emerging. There is a cinematic quality to my imagery. The female figures deliberate refusal to engage the viewer is suggestive of her independence. Where the female is clothed, the male figure is naked and vulernerable in a deliberate inversion of gendered expectations.

My practice is influenced by both historic and contemporary figurative painting with particular interest in the works of Pierre Bonnard, Eric Fischl and Cynthia Westwood.

2004 2005 | BTEC Diploma in Foundation Studies
(Art and Design); Limavady College of FHE, Limavady

2005 2008 | BA (Hons) Fine and Applied Art; University of Ulster, Belfast

Selected Exhibitions
2008 | Canvas Galleries, Belfast
2008 | University of Ulster,